Unknown Deceit
by JadeCrescent Fallen
Summary: Sakura begins having prophetic dreams and a seal appears on her back which could ultimately destroy Konoha. Now a missing nin and targeted by Tsunade, Sakura finds shelter with the most unlikely people...Akatsuki. ItaSaku
1. In the Mass Confusion

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

**Slight AU warning.**

**Don't forget to review when you're finished reading!**

**XXX**

The Author Speaks: This is my first Naruto fanfiction, and I will say right off the bat I don't support character bashing/flaming of any kind. Also, I don't know much about the future of the Naruto series, only what I've read on Wikipedia, so it might not be accurate. Most of it is probably because I made it that way on purpose, like the fact that the characters are much older. Assume their outfits and hairstyles are the ones after the time skip unless told otherwise. Anyway, I hope you have a good read!

**Unknown Deceit**

**Chapter 1 – In the Mass Confusion**

For once in her life, Sakura Haruno did not bother to look in the mirror when she woke up that morning. Every day, she would rouse from her slumber and immediately cross her room into her personal washroom. This room was her favorite in her tiny apartment, although the choice seemed quite unique. The room was large, with walls painted a brilliant rose color, and cool white tiles with swirls of tangerine. Upon entering the room, a wall would be the greeting, preventing anyone from seeing the toilet, sink, mirror, and towel bar on the other side. However, with the turn of the head, the separate shower and bath could be easily seen. The bathtub was large, not wide but long as bathtubs are meant to be. Sakura would sit in it often, fully clothed, in order to think clearer. She considered it more comfortable than a cushioned chair. Her bathroom was the cleanest room in her apartment; every day, she would clean in thoroughly, which was actually a good way to do a sort of 'work-out' with her hands and arms. She would vacuum up every strand of pink hair, clean up every makeup spill, wash the mirror...everything.

Today however, she didn't have time to spend tidying herself up. She knew that her looks should be the least of her worries, but she was female, and she knew all self-respecting women, kunoichi or not, could not stand walking around with uncombed hair and watery eyes. To cure that for today, however, she rubbed her eyes with a tissue and ran a brush through her hair as she left her home, clothed in her usual outfit, locking the door behind her and hurrying down the hallway to the apartment complex's elevator.

She had to make sure she was at the hospital as early as possible. A large group of Jounin were coming back from a dangerous mission, and she had received note from Tsunade to be at the hospital, ready to heal the waves of ninja that were sure to arrive. Sakura had asked what the mission had consisted of. Tsunade had merely smiled and told her 'not to worry about it'. The pinkette usually didn't question her mentor, but it seemed slightly suspicious that such an important mission was kept top-secret. Sakura wondered faintly if Tsunade was the type to squash rumors of upcoming war in order to keep the public from worrying. She dismissed the thought and wandered down the street, heading off to the hospital.

**XxXxXx**

Sakura wasn't very good with deciphering the meaning of 'come in early'. Of course, if she had known what she was going to see when the time came, she wouldn't have even bothered leaving the hospital.

It was pandemonium. Countless ninja were packed into the hospital, whether being on a stretcher, under a white sheet, or against the wall, Sakura couldn't quite remember seeing so many injured ninja in her life. Nurses were dashing from one end of the hospital to the other, filing patients into rooms as quick as possible. Doctors were emerging from their offices and lounges, and medical-ninja were performing quick chakra checks before following the nurses. Sakura squeezed her way through the crowd, looking for Tsunade. One ninja she passed was refusing to get on a stretcher, arguing with the nurse that he can just follow her into the room; after all, it was his arm that was chopped off, not his leg. Her jade eyes fell upon a deceased ninja whose white sheet had fallen off amongst all the commotion. Half of his face was torn off, and his neck was half-severed from the rest of his body. She quickly looked away and continued through the hall. A few familiar faces here and there, some she could put names to, many she couldn't. At the end of a narrow hallway, she found Tsunade talking to a few uninjured persons donning ANBU uniforms. _ANBU were involved in this mess as well? What has taken place? _Sakura thought as she approached them.

Tsunade and the ANBU turned. A frown appeared on the Hokage's face. "Overslept?" she asked in a bitter tone. Today was not going well at all. Despite having all of her medical-ninja, doctors, nurses, and surgeons here, ready to work, she was severely understaffed. According to the ANBU captain she was speaking to, the mission had been a failure with a horrendous turnout. She was not in the mood for any late ninja.

Sakura winced at Tsunade's tone. "I'm sorry...I didn't understand I was going to have to work with something of this high a caliber," she stated truthfully.

Tsunade dismissed the ANBU, who left hurriedly. "I know that," she replied with a heavy sigh, "but I'm in a bad situation right now. Get out there and start looking for patients you know you can heal effectively." Sakura nodded. "Yes, Tsunade-sama." She proceeded down the hallway and back into the crowd. She scanned the room, and she spotted a man plopped down against a wall, breathing in short gasps and perspiring heavily. _Poison,_ she thought. "Everyone who is poisoned, follow me!" Sakura yelled over the commotion. At least ten ninja stood up, using the wall for support, and made their way towards Sakura. She heard a familiar voice ring through the air. "Hey, this one's poisoned—but he isn't moving!"

She looked in the direction the voice came from. It was Neji Hyuuga. His arm was bleeding badly and was bent in a funny direction. The man sitting next to him had his head resting on the wall behind him; he was unmoving, sweat covering him. She could tell just by looking at him. She sighed. As much as she knew how disrespectful it was to leave a dead man where he was, exposed to the world, she had people who were still alive and were ready and able to be cured. "Don't touch him, Neji!" she shouted at the Byakugan master, who had reached out to shake the man. His fingers froze, inches from the man's arm.

Sakura wasn't sure if the poison was contagious, and she sure as hell didn't want the poison spreading around the whole hospital. "Nobody touch the ninja sitting next to Jounin Hyuuga-san!" The words were bitter-tasting in her mouth. Yes, nobody touch the ninja. He's dead and might kill you too. That is how it was. You could feel compassion if you wanted to, but it would be rushed from one screaming patient to another. She made her way to an empty examination room, picking up random lines from the indecipherable chatter around her.

"—Can't believe he actually believed the genjutsu..."

"—Yukari...w-w-was right n-next to me...she was b-b-blown t-t-to pieces, and I-I wasn't? H-How...is t-t-that p-possible..."

"—His sword drained all of my chakra, if you hadn't stepped in..."

Sakura could only imagine what those people had been through. She strained to keep herself from asking what had happened. She would find out later, eventually. She filed people into the room, sitting them down and placing her hand over wherever the poison holes were located, and her other hand not that much farther away. She concentrated her chakra on entering through the holes, making sure not to travel smoothly through the insides, finding the poison, and then guiding it out with her other hand, switching chakra control from one palm to the other, safely extracting the poison from the body. The poison would then deteriorate from the chakra surrounding it; Sakura made sure to bottle some for study later. She concluded that the poison wasn't contagious, as no one else was appearing to her, waiting for extraction. It was a silent process, which made it quicker.

Sakura touched the thigh of a young woman, and looked up into a familiar face. Tenten's lovely brown hair was surprisingly long when they weren't done up in baos. What the medic-nin was really paying attention to, however, was her blood-soaked shirt that once showed off a beautiful light pink, and her pants that had been shredded to nothing. Sakura noticed bruising in between the girl's thighs. Sakura's eyes widened lightly. Tenten's eyes welled up. "I-I know...it's not what it looks like...but h-he was just so interested...it makes no sense..." she said. Sakura smiled at her gently. "You're alright now," she said, performing the extraction. "You see?" Tenten looked at Sakura. "There were only nine of them...and then there were hundreds...thousands, perhaps..."

Sakura didn't understand. A confrontation that turned into a full-out siege, resulting in this? Tenten was the last poison patient. She led the shaking woman out of the room. As soon as they left the room, a rush of patients crowded in, all with missing fingers or other small appendages. She handed Tenten over to Neji. The dead man had been hauled off to god knows where. She collapsed, crying, in the spot next to him. Neji put his arms around her and brought her close. Sakura noticed a tear falling down his face as well.

All of a sudden, a horrible feeling jolted through her body. Where was Rock Lee? Surely he would be with his teammates, especially in a situation like this? She knew she couldn't look for him. She wanted to, very much so, but she couldn't. No matter how close someone was to your heart...in the world of a medical-ninja, the dying came first. Then, you could mourn.

**XxXxXx**

It felt like a scene that would happen at night. Yet, the morning sun was gleaming over Konoha, birds were flying to perch on the Hokage Monument Mountains, and Ichiraku Ramen was open and probably packed. Sakura could not believe that she had only been at the hospital for two hours. It felt like six. The hospital's huge crowd had thinned, they had either been sent home healthy, put in hospital beds for a few days, or died.

Sakura looked at her reflection in the bathroom's mirror. She chuckled to herself. It didn't matter if she was bald, or if chunks of her hair were falling out. If she was able to mend someone's arm, give someone a transplant, do anything to save them...the amount of hair she had didn't matter. It didn't matter to her right now. Yet, she knew she'd wake up the next morning and go into that bathroom of hers, and tidy herself up.

She headed out of the bathroom and went to report to Tsunade. Along the way, she saw Rock Lee, seemingly uninjured, sitting an open room next to Tenten as another medic-nin healed Neji's arm. Her heart lifted. _He's okay. _She climbed up the right staircase, passing by two male Jounin who were in deep conversation. She took note of an ANBU standing at the top of the stairs. She'd have to ask why they were involved as well. She was startled when the ANBU spoke to her. "You seem like you've been having the day of your life."

She recognized him immediately. "Hatake-san...er...Kakashi-senpai, whatever." Kakashi took off his ANBU mask and gazed down at her with droopy eyes. "Were you hurt?" Sakura asked. "No, I wasn't damaged at all. None of those bastards could ever catch up to me."

"Kakashi-senpai, what happened? Where did you go? Why was there so much...misery?" She noted the sad glance in his eyes. However, she had a feeling not even her former sensei would tell her what happened. Speaking of her sensei, her former teammates weren't anywhere in the hospital. In fact, she didn't see anyone from her class at all.

"Well, in times of crisis, the ANBU Black Ops are needed. Why do think I retook this job? For the mask?" Kakashi asked.

Sakura reached him, and passed by him. "Perhaps Tsunade-sama will give me a straight answer."

"Perhaps she will. Good day to you, Sakura-chan," he said in a cheerful voice.

Kakashi could go from serious to cheerful in some of the most inopportune moments. Of course, he was an excellent liar, so she was sure that his cheerfulness was merely an illusion.

What exactly was happening?

**XxXxXx**

Heh, this chapter might have been boring to you people craving for some romance. But, I promise it will get there! I need to set the foundation for the story, alright? Yes, Kakashi rejoined ANBU. I'm planning on having most of the 'nine rookie ninjas' be just Chuunin, although I might have a few be Jounin. Sakura is a Tokubetsu Jounin, aka Tokujo, which is in between a Chuunin and a Jounin. But yeah, I hoped you enjoyed this non-romantic floor plan for my fanfic, and yeah, that hug between Neji and Tenten was a romantic one. You'll notice lack of former sensei (sans Kakashi). That'll be explained later. As will this whole chapter, which probably left you as confused as Sakura. Review please!


	2. What's In A Nightmare?

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.  
****Slight AU warning.  
****Don't forget to review when you're finished reading!**

**XXX**

**Unknown Deceit**

The Author Speaks: **bolded lines** are Inner Sakura. _Italicized lines _are regular thoughts from anybody.

**Chapter 2 – What's In a Nightmare?**

A large yawn escaped Sakura. Her eyes opened slowly, her vision slowly focusing. She sat up, immediately recognizing the comfortable sheets as her own. She looked around her dark bedroom, a look of confusion spreading across her face. "What am I doing here?" she asked out loud. The last thing she remembered, she had been talking to Kakashi in the hospital. He had bid her farewell, and...she woke up here. She swung her legs over her bedside and slid off her bed. Once standing at full-length, she noticed she was wearing her favorite red nightgown, made from silk and quite revealing. She changed out of it before leaving for the hospital, and she never wore it twice in a row.

She sauntered over to her window and pulled open the curtains. The sunlight pervaded the room, and her pupils contracted quickly, avoiding pain and blindness. The sun had been present when she had talked to Kakashi. Did someone knock her out and put her back in bed? No, that was absurd; there would be no reason to knock her out. She entered her bathroom and stared in the mirror for a minute, looking at her reflection. She felt like she was getting up for the first time in a while. She combed her hair, thinking.

**XxXxXx**

Sakura locked her apartment door and headed over to the elevators. People were bustling all around her, ready to go to work, school, wherever. As she left her building, she couldn't help but sense the streets were quite...happy. An odd way to put it, but it sure didn't seem like she had been packed in a hospital with hundreds of injured ninjas and hadn't treated or pronounced anyone dead. She passed by Ichiraku Ramen, serving a dozen ninja who looked at least Jounin level. She stopped for a moment to observe them. One of them turned, sensing her gaze on them. Her blood froze. She remembered his face. He was the ninja who had half his face blown off. She stepped back and ran to the hospital as fast as possible.

She recognized three people heading her way; she slowed her pace as former Team Guy approached her. Her eyes darted to Neji's arm and Tenten's injuries. They were both spotless. Rock Lee noticed her watching them and smiled, holding up his hand to wave. "Sakura-chan!" he called, speeding up to greet her. Sakura faked a smile. "Hello, Lee!" Neji smiled at Sakura, and Tenten waved. "Sakura, how good it is to see you. Busy with the hospital lately?" Sakura's gaze drifted to Neji. "Um, yes I have. Hey, weren't you at the hospital earlier today?" Neji's eyebrows raised. "No...why?"

"Tenten?" Sakura asked. "What were you doing last night?"

Tenten blushed crimson and Neji looked taken aback. Sakura looked at both of them and also blushed. "So...there wasn't any battle last night? No mission?" Tenten shook her head. "No, otherwise Neji and I would have been in trouble." Brown eyes met silver, and they blushed, smiling.

**Smooth move. Oh, what were you two doing last night? It makes it sound like you knew exactly what they were doing and were just rubbing it in!** Inner Sakura chastised.

_Shut up, I had no idea! And that's not important, anyway! What happened earlier!_

**Neji and Tenten were having a good time, that's what.**

_WOULD YOU SHUT UP!_

"I apologize for that question, it sounded accusatory," said Sakura, bowing in apology. "It's quite alright," Neji replied. "But, what made you think a mission had taken place?"

Sakura honestly did not know how to answer that. She knew she could trust them, but the idea did seem a little...paranormal. "I saw all you guys earlier this morning. You were all in the hospital! Everyone was hurt, and you were on some important mission...there was so much death, and pain, and..." Sakura couldn't go on. Her eyes panged and she looked away from them. The emotional stress was finally beginning to catch up on her.

Lee's eyes widened. He put his hands on her shoulders and looked at her closely. "Sakura, what is the matter?" he asked. She looked up at him. "I...I thought you had died!" Neji and Tenten exchanged uncomfortable glances. Lee shook his head. "Sakura, I assure that I am not going anywhere. You were plagued by nightmares, nothing more."

Sakura stared. _Nightmares? No, that is not true. What I felt was real. I felt the pain, the sorrow, the sadness lingering in the air. There's no way that was fake. _She took a step back from Lee. "You're wrong. I know what I saw! Something's going on here!" She turned and ran. She just wanted to get away from them. She didn't know why they were lying straight to her face. She didn't understand.

Lee watched her depart. "Lee, don't you think..." Tenten began, but he held up a bandaged hand to silence her. "No, Tenten. She's not high enough to be invited. Whoever told her is foolish, but there is no sense in having her spread it around."

**XxXxXx**

Sakura threw open the doors to the hospital. She expected to see mass cleanup of what happened earlier. She was surprised to see the hospital looked spotless. Clean, tiled floors, no bandages lying around anywhere, sparkling and with no air of death. Despite this, Sakura ascended the stairs and marched into Tsunade's medical office.

She was sitting behind the desk, sorting medical files. She looked up when Sakura approached. She smiled at her former pupil. "Sakura, hello!"

Sakura was surprised by the woman's cheerful expression. Just a few hours ago, she had been in the worst of moods. How could she have recovered so quickly? "Tsunade-sama, what the hell is going on here?" she asked. She didn't want to play around any longer.

Tsunade thought it was odd for Sakura to appear at the hospital when she wasn't called for. She thought it was even more outlandish that the girl was angry, and frankly she had no idea what she was talking about. "Beg your pardon?" she asked.

"This morning. You called me to the hospital, and there were a shitload of Jounin and ANBU that were injured or dead. All from some important mission. Poison, explosives, genjutsu, whatever! You wouldn't tell me what was going on before, and Kakashi wouldn't either, now I wake up back in my bed, not knowing WHAT HAPPENED after I left the hospital! And to make it worse, Tenten, who I treated for poisoning, looks completely healthy, Neji Hyuuga's arm isn't broken, and this person who I saw eating? His face was blown up! Now someone had better tell me what is going on, unless I'm crazy!" Sakura let out a deep breath. She had turned red slightly. She noticed Tsunade's expression change after each sentence. "Sakura, none of that ever happened. I'm serious. But...did someone tell you about that mission?" she asked.

"What mission?" Sakura asked, not bothering to be polite. Tsunade growled. "Look, I don't know who told you about the mission, but you aren't going to be making up things that will happen and expect me to call it off! This could be our one chance to kill them all, and we aren't going to say no just because you are worried!"

"...What?" Sakura asked. "I'm not repeating myself," Tsunade said. "Get out. And don't go to the meeting. You aren't going to the mission; I'm not risking your life. Now get out!"

**XxXxXx**

Sakura's chin rested on the counter of Ichiraku Ramen, ignoring her ramen bowl. She had no idea what had just happened. She apparently dreamed about the results of some mission she had no idea was going to take place. Perhaps it was just a coincidence. She wasn't a prophetess or anything.

She snapped out of her thoughts when someone plopped on the seat next to her and took her bowl of ramen. She picked her head up and looked over. "Hey, Naruto."

Naruto was picking at her ramen, observing her with captivating blue eyes. He grinned. "Something wrong with my favorite flower?" Sakura smiled at the affectionate nickname. Naruto was a person she knew would understand without question. "Naruto...do you know about some meeting being held later today?" Naruto shook his head, slurping up her ramen. "Yeah, it's Jounin and ANBU only though. Why?" Sakura shook her head. "It's...no, I should tell you."

After explaining her dream to him, his mouth was hanging open. "That's what's going to happen? Man..." his gaze changed to one far-off. Sakura shook her head. "I need to go to that meeting." Naruto nodded. "Yeah, we're going! I'll sneak you in," he said. "But, you aren't invited." Naruto winked. "Don't worry about it. I'll get us in, believe it!" Sakura sighed. "I trust you..."

She did. Naruto was a man she loved very much. He showed her optimism after Sasuke left to go with Orochimaru. He showed her she didn't have to give up, thinking she was a weak ninja. He showed her it was all for the better after Sasuke left, again, to live in solitude. She wondered, in the back of her mind, how he managed to be so happy, despite years of negligence and the threat of Kyuubi. His smile comforted her. He was someone she could turn to in times of need.

Naruto stood up and held out his hand. "Come on, let's go!" he said.

Sakura took his hand. _Well, here I go._

**Better not screw up.**

**XxXxXx**

This chapter SUCKED in my opinion! Ugh, I always have on-and-off days. Well, just to let you know, the first few chapters are merely plot. She probably won't meet Itachi until the next or maybe four. Oh, and I hope this clears some confusion. It'll be easier to understand next chapter. I'm horrible with battle scenes, so don't expect good ones. Anyway, I promise the next chapter will be a lot better! Oh, I suck at titles by the way.


	3. The Mission Begins

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.  
****Slight AU warning.  
****Don't forget to review when you're finished reading! **

**XXX**

**Unknown Deceit**

The Author Speaks: **bolded lines** are Inner Sakura. _Italicized lines _are regular thoughts from anybody.

**Chapter 3 – The Mission Begins**

Something didn't feel natural about the situation. Of course, when you were hanging from the roof, sending chakra to your feet to keep you from falling into the unstable grating below, collapsing it and falling into a room with hundreds of Jounin and ANBU officials, you wouldn't really feel natural at all. Sakura and Naruto were both in this situation. It was Naruto's idea to climb up the pipes in the bathroom. "No one would look for us here because of the weak grating below us" he had said. At least it wasn't something completely outrageous, which is what Naruto was prone to come up with. What Naruto hadn't thought of, however, was that if the meeting went on too long they would eventually run out of chakra and fall. Sakura had perfect chakra control, unlike Naruto, so she would probably be able to hang on longer. Still, if Naruto fell, they would know where to look.

"Sakura, snap out of it!" Naruto whispered hastily. Sakura was thinking about what would happen if they were caught. She looked at him. "Sorry." She didn't want to talk too much. The meeting was well guarded; she noticed ninja with chakra flow around their ears. Talking would just get them caught.

Tsunade was sitting behind her desk, her fingers laced together. "They will not make it to our village. If they do, they will bring down the barrier and destroy our only means of control. As you all know, I decided to bring it in a few years ago, after the destruction of Konoha via Orochimaru. Thanks to Hatake, we are able to keep it safe. However, they have uncovered the location of it, and will not hesitate to disarm it. We know the seal is still there, because no one has touched since we found it. But, we cannot let anyone know about this mission. Unfortunately, some idiot has leaked out information about the meeting, but it doesn't matter. As long as they don't tell the whole village...I trust she won't."

Butterflies began to flitter around in Sakura's stomach. _That's me she's talking about. _

**Well, you did kinda freak her out with the whole 'I can see the future' deal.**

_I didn't say that!_

Despite having been there from the time the meeting started, neither Sakura nor Naruto had any idea who 'they' were. It was apparent the ones at the meeting did, because none of them asked Tsunade who 'they' were. Perhaps they didn't dare. The whole talk of 'it' was just as confusing. Kakashi knew _something_ about 'it', and from the way Tsunade talked about 'it', 'it' was most likely a weapon of some kind.

"Sakura, do you think they're talking about a weapon of some kind?" Naruto was curious. Sakura sighed. "Yes, now be quiet." Naruto wasn't the master of stealth. Talking also cut them from the meeting below, and she wanted to get as much information as possible. Tsunade was now talking about offensive tactics. Sakura thought back to the hospital in her dream. She bit her lip. She knew what the outcome of the mission would be, but she didn't know how to stop it. Tsunade wasn't listening to her.

"Sakura!" Naruto whispered loudly. Sakura shivered angrily. _That dobe, _she thought. "Naruto, shut it!" The pinkette checked her chakra. She didn't have much left. They would have to go soon. She sent another five percent to both legs. That would last her about ten more minutes. Naruto shifted next to her. "Sakura, my chakra is almost gone..." he felt his leg begin to detach from the wall. "Just hold on a little longer. Send some more if you have to. Only five percent to each leg is needed," she said. Naruto shifted again, beginning to crawl away from the grate carefully. "I don't have ten percent! I've been sending nine percent to each leg!" he said, anguished. Naruto was the type of person who thought the bigger number, the better. Unfortunately, sending more chakra than needed didn't mean that you would hold on longer...it just meant you were wasting chakra.

Sakura didn't know how to respond, when Naruto's legs detached from the wall. He fell, loudly, onto the floor of the pipe.

She cringed and prepared to scuttle away. Before she could blink, several ANBU had appeared in the pipe and surrounded the bemused friends. Sakura didn't even twitch—had she, her throat would have been slit by the three kunai pressing against her neck. Naruto was being straddled by another ANBU, his head forced into the hard floor. She dared move her eyes, and saw one of the ANBU threatening to cause her to bleed to death was none other than Kakashi. She felt the sharp point of a kunai lower. "Sakura?" he asked, bewildered. "U-Uh..." Sakura stammered. She didn't know how to respond. "Lower your weapons, and get off of Naruto if you will." Kakashi couldn't believe his former students were spying on them.

_This is going to take some explaining..._

**GREAT job, Naruto!**

**XxXxXx**

Yet, another situation that wasn't natural. Standing in the middle of a large circle of high-ranking ninja elite and having to face the Hokage was not fun. Also, being Tsunade's former student wasn't going to give Sakura a free ride. She could tell just by how _pissed _the woman was.

"I can't believe this," Tsunade began, her words flowing out from behind clenched teeth. "Tsunade-sama..." Sakura wanted to try to warn her one last time. Perhaps doing it in front of her audience would help convince her. Tsunade wouldn't allow it. "Don't interrupt me! How long were you up there!" "The start of the meeting..." Sakura said quietly, but Tsunade heard her loud and clear. "The start! So you heard about...it!" "Yes..." Tsunade's fist hit her desk. "Dammit! You had BETTER not tell anyone about this!" Naruto squirmed. "Tsunade-sama, it was my idea to eavesdrop on you...don't be too angry with Sakura-hana...er...Sakura-chan."

Tsunade glared at him, fire dancing in her eyes. "Did I ask you, Uzumaki-san?" Naruto averted her gaze. "No, sama." "You will both be placed in Konoha's Security Prison until the mission is over," she stated in a non-persuading voice. Naruto gaped and Sakura shrieked. "What!" the fox boy exclaimed in stupefaction. "You can't lock us up! We didn't do anything wrong!" Tsunade smirked. "You eavesdropped on a top-secret meeting that involved the Hokage, no less. I have the right to do whatever I want. Just be glad you aren't missing-nin, or your blood would be splattered all over the pipes." She turned and beheld the room, her eyes landing on Tenten. "Tenten-san, you are in charge of keeping an eye on them after they are placed in their cells. You will be collected for the mission later."

Tenten nodded. "I-I shall, Hokage-sama." She was still stunned from the sudden capture of two of her friends.

**XxXxXx**

Naruto kicked at the wall of his cell, raging. Sakura was sitting on her wooden slab of a bed, looking between the chakra-proof bars at the glorious moonlight above. Tenten was leaning against the thick stone wall separating Sakura's cell from Naruto's. Sakura got up and tapped on her bars. "Tenten-chan?" she asked quietly. "Don't call me that," Tenten replied. "I know you aren't angry at me, Tenten. But I need to talk to you," she said. She heard Tenten sigh, and a moment later she appeared in front of the bars, her arms crossed. "Yes?"

"Look, I know you know why I was spying on all of you. I told you about my dream before, remember?" Sakura recalled that morning. When Tenten didn't reply, she continued. "You know I'm right, you're just too scared to admit it. Please, Tenten, just go and tell Tsunade."

"Tell her that I'm pissed at the bitch, too!" Naruto spat from the other cell. Ignoring him, Tenten replied, "I don't want to cross her..." Sakura shook her head. "You don't have to cross her. Tenten, if you don't tell her, countless ninja are going to die! Neji's arm is going to be broken...you're going to get poisoned!" Tenten focused on the floor. "If you save us, that's fine...right?" "No! The other ninja won't be saved! Tenten...you're going to get...touched by the enemy," Sakura said, her voice lowering out of instinct. Tenten's eyes widened. "Whaa?" Naruto sputtered. "I remember seeing marks on your thighs. Tenten, you don't want that to happen, do you? Please, just tell Tsunade what I said..." Sakura pleaded.

Tenten looked as if she were struggling with herself. Finally, after a moment, she withdrew keys from her pocket and unlocked Sakura's cell, and then Naruto's. Sakura blinked. "Tenten?" The brunette smiled at them. "I know I shouldn't be doing this...but you have to hurry. The battle site is going to be well outside town, in the mountain region. I know I'm going to get in trouble for this..."

Naruto grinned. "No need to worry! Alright, we're out! Sakura, let's go kick some 'them' ass!"

Tenten shook her head. "Them is Akatsuki."

Naruto and Sakura froze. _Akatsuki...that's the group Sasuke's brother is in...the one we fought a year or so ago. But why...why are they coming back?_

"You're shitting me! The _Akatsuki? _Shit, no wonder there are gonna be so many fatalities!" Naruto exclaimed.

Sakura was confident in her ability as a healer, but not as a fighter. She wasn't weak, per say, but the Akatsuki outclassed her in every way, shape, and form. If they went with Tenten to face them...Sakura then felt her heart sink. If she was hurt, if she died...

"Sakura?" Naruto asked. She was gazing at the wall, off in her own little world. She slowly turned her head to meet his. "Naruto...I can't go..." Naruto's eyebrow rose. "Why not?" Sakura's lip trembled. She didn't know why she felt so frightened. A million possibilities ran through her head. "Naruto...if I go...I can't match against the Akatsuki. I-I...I don't want to die..." she said, shaking. She felt weak, for some reason.

Naruto sighed. Of course Sakura would be afraid of the Akatsuki, hell, he was afraid of them just as much as she was. The last time he crossed them, he was pounded into the ground. Although they did not kill just to kill, his Kyuubi was eyed by the terrorist group. "I don't want to die either, and you know what? We won't. Sakura, we already know that almost every person we're going to fight is going to be a puppet, probably from that Sasori guy. The others will be tricked because of their varied appearances, but..." "If I pass on the information to Neji and Lee, and they pass it to their squads, then the fight will be easier," Tenten finished for the blond. Naruto smiled at her and nodded. "Yeah, that's right. Sakura, you're a med-nin, you'll save lives out there. You already know poison is going to be used; you'll get to all the poisoned victims before they succumb!"

Sakura thought for a moment. He was correct. She nodded. "I'll go."

Naruto grinned and Tenten smiled. "Alright, let's go kick some Akatsuki ass!"

**XxXxXx**

You must all be getting bored of the plot chapters. Well, Naruto and Sakura are finally going to the battlefield! And yes, Sakura is a little weak this chapter, of course, I don't blame her. The Akatsuki _are_ pretty scary. But, Itachi will be in the next chapter! Oh, and I'm starting school on Monday the 28th...so chapters will be pumping out at a slower pace. But I won't quit on you! Anyway, keep reading; I don't wanna lose my fans!


	4. Tell Me Everything

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.  
****Slight AU warning.  
****Don't forget to review when you're finished reading!**

**XXX**

**Unknown Deceit**

The Author Speaks: **bolded lines** are Inner Sakura. _Italicized lines _are regular thoughts from anybody.

**Chapter 4 – Tell Me Everything**

The fight was impossible to see, and impossible to hear. Yet, when Sakura looked past the genjutsu barrier, she wondered who had conjured up a barrier so omnipotent that could contain the ungodly battle that was underway. Tenten broke a piece of the barrier off with a secret jutsu, and they all stepped through. Sakura and Naruto had barely taken a step onto the craggy dirt lining the level ground of the battlefield, before Tenten had withdrew a scroll from her shirt, open it, and summon hundreds of battle axes, falling towards a colony of corpse puppets; her other hand was holding a bo staff which she was spinning around, deflecting senbon needles that were flying towards her.

The battle site was well outside of town, in a huge, forlorn dirt field, the bottom of an expansive hill where hundreds upon hundreds of corpse puppets were charging at ninja squadrons. The field was darker than the night; the moon and stars were blocked by the barrier, and the flashes of weapon strikes could be seen, not heard, in the roar of battle. Blood was soaking into a creaking bamboo fence, and a ninja jumped by them, bleeding ferociously. Sakura's eyes widened—this truly was a Jounin/ANBU fight. Naruto, somehow, seemed excited. He was grinning, his weapons prepared.

Tenten was holding three more scrolls. "I'll go warn Neji's squad!" she said, starting to run off. She stopped quickly and turned. "Naruto, Sakura...be careful." She threw them a few scrolls. "Weapon summoning. Just in case." With that, she disappeared within grey smoke.

Sakura felt almost the same way she had felt when being dropped off at the Ninja Academy for the first time. She was only five, and was terrified of being without her parents. In this case, Tenten was her mother. She wanted desperately to cling to Naruto; but he would just rush into battle with her. "Sakura? Are we going in?" Naruto asked. He didn't want to leave him former teammate behind. She stood glued to her spot, taking in the field. "Naruto, I think..."

She was never talented in analyzing situations quickly and figuring out how to approach them the most effective way possible. She couldn't figure out _what _to do, exactly...charge in and attack? Or look for weaknesses while sitting there? This is where a person like Shikamaru Nara came in. Sakura was tracing the outline of a kunai in her pocket. With a precise hit, she could send it through the fake hearts of multiple corpses, killing them instantly and without much fuss. She withdrew it from her pocket. "Yeah, let's go." She couldn't sound brave, there was no way. Naruto put his hand on hers, the one clutching the kunai, and squeezed it gently. She felt her skin press against the kunai's blade. She looked up at Naruto, puzzled. He smiled. "We're gonna be fine Sakura-hana. Believe it." Sakura mouth twitched upwards at those words. His goofy little phrase that he always used to reiterate several times in minutes annoyed her then, but not now. "Yeah, we can do it. Cha!" she added, using her own little phrase.

**You are such a dork, you know that?**

Sakura and Naruto began to walk into battle. They sped up after each step, until they broke into a full run. The corpses and the ninjas grew closer, until they were literally surrounded by them. Sakura and Naruto kept on running, until Sakura stuck her foot out sideways and skidded to a halt, twisting her body almost fluidly, throwing her kunai perfectly parallel to the heart of a corpse puppet. It went straight through the heart, like a hand through a spider web, and out the corpse's back, and kept on traveling. Sakura knew the entire anatomy of a person. She had lined up a shot that would kill at least five corpses. She looked at Naruto, who nodded. His hands performed their usual symbols. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" he yelled. Hundreds of Naruto clones appeared, and Sakura pulled out what seemed to be a bento box. She opened it and threw it up in the air. She performed her own pre-jutsu symbols and held her index fingers and thumbs like a heart. "Burning Heart Jutsu!" Fireballs shaped like hearts flew from her chakra web in her fingers. She smirked. She figured out the idea from Lee, who kept on pouring hearts out to her when they were younger. The jutsu worked well, starting a fire that spread quickly amongst the enemy. Ninja scattered to avoid getting caught in the burning blaze.

Sakura turned to give a thumbs up to Naruto. Her eyes widened. Where Naruto had been, a few kunoichi were in his place, holding bloody katanas. "Naruto!" One of the women turned and looked at her. She shook her head and pointed up towards the hill. Sakura swore and took off up the hill, jumping amidst various ninja and corpses. She turned in midair and kicked a shuriken away from her. Something grabbed her foot. She shrieked and looked down to see a corpse, tugging at her. She growled and kicked him in the face with her free foot. She dislodged her foot from him grip and jumped on his head, propelling herself into the air. She put her hands together and concentrated. Blue energy swirls began to surround her, and the leaves on the trees scattered amongst the rock ridden ground snapped off their branches and gathered around her. Another scream rang through the air. Sakura couldn't do anything about it. She put her hands up towards the sky. "Wind Release: Nature Screech Gale!"

The blue energy and leaves gathered around her catapulted away from her, aimed towards the ground, the harmless leaves became a sharp, deadly weapon wrapped around a cocoon of chakra that caused them to grow bigger. They effortlessly mowed down around fifty corpses with ease. Sakura smirked and concentrated chakra in her feet, hitting the ground and flying up again, continuing up the hill. She hit the ground and went to go back up, and her vision caught an ANBU flying at her. She opened her mouth to recite the disappearing technique, when he crashed into her and they both sped through the air, the ground greeting them towards the edge of the genjutsu barrier. It was one of the few areas where a battle was scarce. Sakura clenched her teeth together, pain branching out through her body. The ANBU jumped off her and a Rasengan ball appeared in his hand. She yelped. "No, stop I'm not the enemy!" she shrieked. Her eyes met a black and red eye. "Kakashi-senpai!"

The ANBU captain blinked, and his Rasengan disappeared. "Sakura, what the hell are you doing here!" he asked, his voice laced with anger. She scrambled up. "You don't expect me to sit tight and just let this all happen! Naruto's here too, but I lost him." Kakashi growled. "You're an idiot. You don't have the experience for this." Sakura's hands curled into fists. Had he not seen her performance? "If you'll excuse me, there's nothing you can do now. I'm going back in." She stepped forward. Suddenly, an electrifying sensation jolted through her back. She froze._ What is that feeling? It's...so horrible...but not painful. _She began to shake, and for some reason, her mouth let out an echoing scream. She stumbled forward, right into Kakashi's arms. "Sakura? Sakura, what's wrong!" Kakashi asked, pulling her away from him and holding her by the shoulders. She couldn't find the words to say anything. Her voice box closed on her. She felt something burn, she heard strange whispers in her ear. She blinked. She screamed again. The entire battlefield was burning. An inferno had spread across everything. Everyone was dead. People were screaming in the heat of the flames. Not just normal ninja, but an Akatsuki member as well. _Death...fire...everyone's dead._ Kakashi shook her roughly. "Sakura, snap out of it!"

In a moment, it was all gone. No fire. Just blood, screaming, and the other sounds of warfare. And...Sakura's eyes widened. Past Kakashi was something so familiar and heart-pounding. She felt her blood breeze. A black cloak with red clouds. Not a corpse. Only a nine in ten thousand chance of encountering one of them. And luck was on her side...or rather, not on her side. Sakura didn't even move until a large sword appeared in his hands. Then, she responded by throwing Kakashi to the side and summoning a battle axe. "Chaaa!" she yelled, in both fear and anticipation.

The man was on top of her before she could blink. He gripped her hand that was clutching the axe. He smirked down at her. She felt his fingers dig into her skin. She whimpered. His eyes were small, and the gills on his face shocked and frightened her. His teeth looked unnaturally sharp. Nothing about him looked...normal. Despite his strong and painful grip on his arm, he lowered it gently and she dropped her axe. She backed away from him. "Don't come near me!" she screamed. Her arm was limp at her side. Had he paralyzed her?

Kakashi appeared in front of Sakura defensively. "Don't come near her. She has it," Kakashi growled at the shark-man. He blinked, and Sakura wrinkled her brow at him. What did she have? All she had on her were a few simple weapons and two scrolls. The shark-man spoke in a strangely calm and polite manner for his formidable appearance. "She has...it?" Kakashi nodded. "So _don't_ come near her."

Sakura felt like different were being communicated than what was actually being said. The shark-man smirked and grabbed Kakashi by the throat. Sakura screamed. "No!" Kakashi disappeared and reappeared next to the man, who punched him clear out of the area. Sakura rushed after him. "Kakashi-senpai!" She saw the figure of her teacher attempt to get up, and crumple to the ground. Sakura gulped and watched in horror. No...Kakashi wasn't dead, was he! She felt the gaze of the shark-man on her back. She turned around, her eyes filled with tears, and ran at him angrily. "YOU BASTARD!"

The man shook his head and a figure appeared next to him, who stepped in front of him and walked towards her. Before they collided, Sakura skidded to a halt.

Her eyes on the ground, they traveled up a familiar cloak, and then up to a pale face, to deep imprints traveling up his face and finally into a pair of blood red eyes. All her senses disappeared. He stared down at her. He was so close, his body warmth enveloped her. It was...strangely comforting. He put his face close to hers, as if studying her. She flushed lightly. _Itachi...Uchiha..._

He took her chin in his hands. He spoke softly, but not to her. "She has it, Kisame?" he asked. Kisame nodded. _What do I have! _Sakura thought angrily. She stepped away from Itachi's cold fingers. He responded by grabbing her and pulling her close. She yelped as her face was buried in her cloak. She was so close to him, she could even smell him. Goosebumps rose on her back when Itachi pulled up the back of her shirt. Her eyes grew wide and she struggled. What was he doing!

Itachi craned his head around hers to look down at her back. He lowered her shirt and turned her to face him. Sakura felt paralyzed by his gaze. A small smile spread across his lips. What frightened Sakura wasn't the evil dancing in his eyes. In fact, he instilled a sense of protection to her. What was more, his smile was...genuine. Not a smirk or even fake. It was a comforting, gentle almost. "What—" Sakura began to speak. Itachi's gaze drifted for a split second. He grabbed her by the throat, taking her off guard and by surprise. He didn't hold onto her; he threw her as hard and as far as possible. Sakura screamed as she felt something break against her back. A genjutsu barrier. And then, _another_ one.

Sakura was now flying over a huge crater, so massive it was twice as big as the Academy's grounds. She didn't know where it came from, or why it was hidden, in fact she had never seen it in her life. It didn't matter. Her flying stopped and she plummeted into the deep hole. She stared up at the sky above. Ghostly, cloudy, dark. She held out her hand, trying to reach it. She didn't want to die. She didn't know how far deep the hole went. She closed her eyes and let her arm fall limp. She could feel the air between her and the ground dissipate as she grew closer. Closer, closer, closer...the ground was so close. She couldn't even see the surrounding foliage anymore...just the sky. The forlorn grey mass of smoky clouds and pale moonlight. She saw someone look down at her. Who was it? Kakashi? Shark-man Kisame? Or was it Itachi? Why was she asking herself so many questions? So close to death, she wanted to know everything. Was that it?

She uttered one thing before she hit the ground below. "Tell me...everything..."

**XxXxXx**

I think I wrote the chapter well until I got to the end. Yuck, I can't write fight scenes. So Sakura finally meets Itachi! Although it's not really heartfelt, heh...well, they are enemies! Anyway, another cliffhanger, next chapter will be a bit different. I've got a lot of story ideas in my head, another one involving Itachi and Sakura, so I might start that when this story has progressed far enough. I bet you're all confused right now XD. Don't worry, everything will be explained later.


	5. Confused and Wanted

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.  
****Slight AU warning.  
****Don't forget to review when you're finished reading!**

**XXX**

**Unknown Deceit**

The Author Speaks: **bolded lines** are Inner Sakura. _Italicized lines _are regular thoughts from anybody.

**Chapter 5 – Confused and Wanted**

_Sinking..._

Sakura couldn't see anything. She knew she was there, and yet she was cloaked in darkness. She could feel herself falling; deeper, deeper...

_Someone get me out...please..._

She couldn't feel her lips move. Her thoughts were spilling out of her head. Her deepest secrets were teetering on the edge of her brain, threatening to reveal themselves.

_Can't anyone hear me?_

Something was penetrating the darkness. A person? No...a symbol of some sort. It looked like the Leaf Emblem, but more ornate. She felt herself switching directions, traveling up to the symbol. Her hand became visible, and she touched the symbol.

"She's waking up!"

**XxXxXx**

Sakura's eyes fluttered open, vision blurred. She turned her head to avoid the painful fluorescent light above her. She felt a comfortable mattress underneath her back, and several pairs on eyes on her. Slowly, she sat up. She was in a hospital room, with Tsunade, Naruto, Kakashi, Tenten, and Lee surrounding her. A bandage was wrapped around her gut. "The...fight?" she asked slowly, her speech slurring.

"It's over. It's been over for two days. Thanks to what you said, it didn't end that badly," Tenten stated. Naruto smiled gently at his friend. "Yeah, you've been in a coma for two days. I was really freaked out!" Sakura rubbed her head. A two day coma? And she didn't die from falling into a huge crater? Luck really was on her side lately. "There was a big flash of light during the fight. We do not know where it came from, but the enemy retreated after they saw this light. If the fight had gone on longer, we would have surely lost more ninja," Lee stated.

"Light..." Sakura repeated slowly. "Wait a minute! There was this barrier, and there was this crater. I fell into a crater!" she said. Tsunade shook her head. "It was a genjutsu the Akatsuki created. There aren't any craters at the battleground."

Kakashi eyed Tsunade for a moment, and Sakura remembered something. "Kakashi-senpai! You said something to that Akatsuki member that was attacking me. You said that I have 'it', and he shouldn't come near me. What's 'it'?" she asked her former teacher. Kakashi looked over at her. "It's simple. It's a tactic used to confuse the enemy into thinking you are carrying something dangerous. You actually didn't have anything."

Sakura pursed her lips. Whatever he thought _that _was going to accomplish, it sure as hell didn't work. "Well, since she's up," Kakashi said, quickly changing the subject, "do you think she's fit enough to go home?" Tsunade looked thoughtful. "I don't think she should be moved for a few days." Sakura rolled her eyes and jumped out of bed, walking around the room. "See? It's not like I'm brain damaged. I'll be fine."

"But Sakura, your bandages..." Lee began. "I can change them myself. I'm a med-nin, I'm not incompetent," she said irritably.

**Always treating me like I'm fragile and weak! So annoying...**

_I couldn't fight that one Akatsuki member though..._

**It's Akatsuki! It's not like we're talking about some B-class Chuunin or something. I mean, hello, Kakashi couldn't take on an Akatsuki member. They aren't normal ninja, so you shouldn't base your abilities by them.**

_I guess._

**XxXxXx**

Sakura turned her keys into the lock in her door handle and unlocked her door. She opened up her door and stepped inside her dark house, flipping on the light switch and dropping her keys into the decorative bowl next to the entrance. "I need a bath," she thought out loud, sniffing underneath her arms and wrinkling her nose. She pulled off her clothes while walking to her bedroom and entered her bathroom, already naked. She flipped on the switch and started the bath, inspecting her hair and pulling off her bandages. For the first time since she woke up, she felt how tired and sore her muscles were. While her bath was filling up, she dumped some strawberry-scented bubble bath mix into the tub and walked back into her bedroom, grabbing a CD and placing it in her portable boom box. It began to play a quiet classical piece, and she lugged it into the bathroom and placed it on the counter. She turned off the water and stepped into the bath, her muscles relaxing in the steamy hot water.

"How nice..." she thought, the bubbles forming around her and floating around like soapy icebergs. She childishly played around with the bubbles, giggling. Her mind wandered back to the fight. Two days...it felt like two hours since she had been on that field, battling countless corpses. It felt so real, that genjutsu. She didn't believe Kakashi. There _had_ to be a crater on that field. She decided she'd go check after her bath. She decided to focus her mind on something else. She thought she had done a pretty good job at fighting. Tsunade had truly taught her many things. Tenten hadn't been poisoned either. And Naruto looked alright. Of course, that boy could survive through anything. She shaped a clump of bubbles into a fox and another into a cup of ramen and guided them to collide with each other, melding into some sort of cup with a fox head. She laughed. "Kitsune to Ramen no Jutsu," she said in serious voice, and then burst out laughing. It was fun acting like a kid again.

After her bath, Sakura drained the tub and stepped out onto the bathroom rug and began drying herself with a fluffy towel. She rubbed the towel back and forth across her front, going lower every ten strokes, and made sure to get in between her thighs. She then turned around to do her back. She froze. On the small of her back was a tattoo. The same Leaf Symbol she saw in that dream she had before waking up.

"What is this?" she asked herself, traveling a finger through it. It didn't move, or smudge, or anything. It was as if it was burned onto her back. Slightly dazed from the discovery, she quickly dried off her back and blow dried her hair. She left her bathroom and threw on a red half top with a green tank top underneath and a black mini skirt, and regular black sandals. She checked her chakra percentage, and left her apartment, locking the door. She put her hands together and focused on the Hokage's office. Quickly performing the right hand movements, she performed a teleportation jutsu.

She ended up right outside the office, and knocked on the wood next to the door. "Come in!" she heard Tsunade yell. Sakura obliged, and noticed Kakashi standing by her desk. Tsunade was sorting a whole pile of paperwork, scattered around her desk. "Sakura, it's you!" she exclaimed in surprise. "Did you need something?" she asked. "Um...Tsunade-sama, about the battle..." Sakura began. Tsuande shook her head. "Sakura, I'm not going punish you for going into battle, nor Naruto and Tenten, either. It's over and done with." Sakura smiled lightly. "Thank you, but that's not what I was going to say. Actually, I'm glad you're here too Kakashi. I know you can tell with these kinds of things..." Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Pardon me?" Sakura began to lift up her shirt. "Can you tell me what this is?" she asked, turning around and hitching up her tank top to show the symbol.

Tsunade leaned over her desk to get a closer look, and Kakashi cocked his head to see it clearer. The room suddenly felt very quiet and tense. Sakura waited for a minute, and then sighed. "Well, do you know what it is?" she asked. She let her shirt go and turned around. Kakashi and Tsunade exchanged very serious looks. "Ah?" Sakura asked. Tsunade's gaze dropped to the floor. "...I'm...so sorry..." she muttered, barely discernable. "I'm sorry?" Sakura repeated, cocking her head. "Tsunade-sama?"

"Sakura, you need some rest. Don't worry about the symbol." Sakura looked over at Kakashi. "Don't worry about it? You're acting awfully suspicious. You've all been so secretive lately. When the hell did Konoha become so complicated!" So far, she hadn't gotten any answers from anyone about anything.

Kakashi strode over to her, casually almost, and grabbed her by the shoulder roughly. "The Hokage and I must talk," he said simply, and shoved her out of the room, closing the door, hard, behind her.

Sakura swore loudly and kicked the door, not caring about respect. "Fine then, don't answer me! Stupid fuckers!" she yelled, storming off. She didn't much care about anything right now, because her whole head was filled with questions and no one was answering them. Like someone who desperately needs to urinate, but no bathroom around to relieve their bladder, she just wanted answers. That, apparently, was banned from being practiced. **Finally, you speak your mind.**

**XxXxXx**

Sakura found herself back in her bathtub, her arms wrapped around her knees, her face staring into the damp wall in front of her. She tried to assess everything in her head.

_Ok, so I have a dream that we're going to fight the Akatsuki, but I don't know that they're the Akatsuki yet. I warn Tsunade, who is trying to hide the fact that they actually are going after the Akatsuki. I end up hearing about 'it', then at the battle Kakashi's telling a shark man I have 'it' and I was thrown into a seemingly genjutsu crater and I woke up two days later with a weird mark on my back and a shitload of questions._

**That wasn't difficult! BUT WHAT THE HELL DOES IT ALL MEAN!**

Sakura leaned back onto her tub's pillow, and stared up at the ceiling. Perhaps everything would be all right tomorrow. She'd just get some sleep, wake up, and Tsunade and Kakashi wouldn't have sticks up their asses and the symbol-thing would be gone, and she could go on with buying ramen for Naruto and shopping with Ino and playing mahjong with Tenten and kicking things with Lee...and so many other things...

A huge crashing sound came from her room, and a loud swear followed it. Sakura jumped up, her heart pounding. "Naruto?" she asked loudly. The door to her bathroom burst open, and several ANBU ninja rushed in, all bearing weapons. Sakura's eyes widened as she saw a kunai come right at her. She dodged in the nick of time and decided quickly to get out of the bathroom, agilely weaving in between the ANBU to get to her bedroom, where she was greeted by a trap of senbon raining down on her. She performed a simple shield jutsu and looked around, the ANBU surrounding her, faces covered by masks. "Hey! Why are you doing this? What did I do?" Sakura asked them. One of the ANBU, wearing a blue bird mask, stepped forward. "Silence! We have orders from the Hokage to assassinate you, Haruno Sakura!"

Sakura's blood ran cold. "What?" she asked in an inaudible tone. "I just saw Tsunade-sama! Why would she want to kill me!" The ANBU shook his head. "We cannot say. She does not want this to be taken as a personal injury," he stated while pulling out a few shuriken. Sakura glared. "Oh, okay. I'll be sure not to take my assassination ordered by my former sensei PERSONALLY!" she screamed. "I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE! SOMEONE TELL ME WHAT'S GOING ON!" She held out her hands. Chakra began welling up around them. She began to paint the chakra in the air, forming a symbol. "Artistic Recoil Jutsu!" she yelled, punching through the symbol and sending blinding paintballs flying at the ANBU.

The chakra amount in the room was unbearable. Sakura jumped out her broken window and landed on the ground with a point of chakra in either foot to speed herself up. There was no time to wonder now; all she could do was fight. Sakura ran up a tree and checked the situation inside her room. She felt a strange energy behind her, and she threw herself off the tree. It exploded with two ANBU right behind her, throwing nets. Sakura growled and kicked her sandals together, exposing two hidden knives. She kicked upward and slashed the nets coming at her, and grabbed each piece, chakra tracing the rope. "Net Psychosis," she whispered.

The ANBU found themselves in the middle of a darkened field with a purple sky. The whispers of the pinkette carried on the wind, filling up their ears and causing them to shiver. It began to rain, ever so lightly. It was gentle. An ANBU wearing an orange rabbit mask stepped forward. Nets erupted out of the ground, nets of rope and barbed wire. The ANBU jumped into the air and landed on a tree, whose branches turned to barbed wire netting, sinking into her fingers and making her scream. Everything was transforming, the land was gone, the water became blue nets, nothing was there. But nets. Chasing them, hurting them, tearing off limbs; inescapable.

Sakura watched the ANBU sink to their knees and scream in unreal pain from her genjutsu. She shook her head sadly and left, running. The thing was, she didn't know where to go. She didn't want to go to Naruto and risk getting him put in the line of fire, and who knew what would happen if she went to Tsunade, who was currently attempting to have her killed?

The tired kunoichi collapsed behind a house. She had used up a lot of her chakra in those few minutes of fighting to terribly powerful ANBU, and creating that genjutsu wasn't a walk in the park either, even with props to help her. Breathing heavily, she stared up at the moon. _Where am I going to go? There's nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide. The ANBU will find me eventually. Why me? I didn't do anything wrong. Nothing that I can think of. Tsunade wouldn't kill me for fighting in that battle, would she?_

She stood up and headed down the street. Someplace far from Konoha. She paused, and smiled lightly. _I can go live with him for a little bit. He'll know what to do,_ Sakura thought. **I can punch the bastard first...**

"Over here!" Someone shouted. Sakura swore and darted out from behind the house, cloaking herself in the darkness with a dark bomb. Moving as silently as possible, she attempted to get into the Forest of Death. A quick shortcut through that and she would be able to arrive where she intended in a day or two, without fear of being followed.

A tear trickled down her face. She didn't know why it happened, and she couldn't move her arm in risk of being noticed. Who would have thought, a month ago, while she was buying flowers from Ino's shop that she would become a member of the hit list of the ANBU. She moved behind a tree when the bomb ran out, and wiped some sweat off her brow. "I hate this..." she muttered.

"We all hate things in life," someone said, and she jumped up and readied a kunai. Kakashi emerged from the darkness, wearing his ANBU outfit sans mask, which was hanging to the side. She growled. "You gonna try to kill me?" she asked angrily. Kakashi smiled—or at least, his eyes said that he did. "Come with me please," he said. She leaned against the tree. "Only if you tell me what's going on." Kakashi nodded. "I will, with help," he promised. "Now, we must run, and quickly." They both took off through the forest, Kakashi running around trees, up them and over them.

They ran and ran, until the forest had disappeared and they were running through the field where the battle had taken place. There was no indication of a fight at all; no rocks were scattered, no blood spilled, not even a blade of grass looked out of place. "Tsunade had it cleaned well," Kakashi pointed out. "Before we go up the hill, go look over where you fell." Sakura blinked. "I thought it was a genjutsu?" Kakashi shook his head. "Just take a look. We can stop for a minute; I redirected my squad to the other side of Konoha."

Sakura complied and plodded over to the spot. Her jade orbs stared down into a black, huge crater. So, it was real. She fell that far and survived? How was it possible? "Can I go down there?" she asked. Kakashi chuckled. "Are you kidding me? You c—" Kakashi was cut short as Sakura fell to her knees, coughing and writhing. He ran to her and leaned down. "What's wrong?" he asked in a worried tone. "My back...it's killing me...I can't breathe..." Sakura choked. Kakashi picked her up. "I'm so stupid, I shouldn't have brought you to _this _point..." he said behind gritted teeth. He took off and up the hill, running into a deep cave, the wind blowing gently against him as Sakura's coughing grew less frequent. He emerged out the other side in mere minutes, the moonlight catching him by surprise and hurting his eye. He closed it while jumping up a tree and onto a meadow. Sakura made a tiny noise from his shoulders. "There's a lot of chakra in the air..." she said. "Let me down."

Kakashi did as told and put her on the ground gently. She stood up and walked forward. "Passing by here...it seems normal..." she said, putting her hand in the air. "But if you do this..." she said, moving her fingers around in a strange type of jutsu formation. She closed her eyes and twirled around. Kakashi watched her in awe. How did she know the correct movements for a genjutsu she didn't even know?

She stopped in a sort of dance movement and a building appeared on top of the meadow, an old castle. Sakura found herself standing on the outside walkway. Kakashi clapped lightly. "It seems you haven't lost your gift for unveiling genjutsu," he said. Sakura didn't feel like smiling. "Yeah. Now, is this our stop?" she asked. She didn't know how to really act in this situation. She knew it was going to hit her like a tsunami later.

Kakashi walked up to her. "Just a minute, wait out here," he told her, opening the door and entering into a well-lit front hall. She nodded and walked around the front for a little bit, sighing. _I don't know what to do. Cry, scream, laugh it off...Kakashi, please keep your end of the bargain. _

Kakashi reappeared. "Sakura, you may come in now. I've alerted them that you've arrived." Sakura brushed hair out her face. "Who?" she asked. Kakashi looked into the room and nodded. He went back inside and the door opened wider, revealing another figure. Sakura opened her mouth to give her greetings, only to be silenced from a mere glance at the man. Pale face, dark hair, red eyes...black and red cloak...

_I...Itachi...?_

**XxXxXx**

This was my longest chapter, whew. It started off good then kinda dwindled down to mediocre later. Well, I shoved a lot into the chapter. So...plot twists, eh? Well, not fully- developed twists yet. Sakura's wanted by ANBU! That sucks. And Tsunade's lying so much? And what about the symbol? It shall all (well most) of it be explained. Oh, and for the old castle that Sakura revealed, it's like those castles in Inuyasha, big old-time buildings that are really more long than big. Oh, and sorry if I make Sakura seem weak, I know she's strong, but if I (and probably you) were Sakura, I'd be completely freaked out, hurt, upset, and angry. Anyway, Itachi and Sakura interaction will only increase from here on out! I hope you liked this one!


	6. Laughter Is Not An Option

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.  
****Slight AU warning.  
****Don't forget to review when you're finished reading!**

**XXX**

**Unknown Deceit**

The Author Speaks: **bolded lines** are Inner Sakura. _Italicized lines _are regular thoughts from anybody. **_Bolded italicized _**lines are flashbacks.

**Chapter 6 – Laughter Is Not An Option**

When Kakashi had called for Itachi, he had not expected Sakura to be amused. He also surmised that if Sakura wasn't being hunted down by ANBU, she would take off in a flash, retreating into the dark sanctuary of the forest with a feeling of betrayal so deep it cut through her heart.

However, that was not the case. Sakura had been betrayed and lied to recently; therefore her reaction was more that of a child who learned that his favorite fantasy character didn't actually exist. Hurt, but not so much as if the child learned his father was dead.

The silver-haired ANBU captain watched her trembling hand reach deep into the pouch fastened around her upper leg. _Senbon and a vial of poison_, Kakashi thought. He could trace the shape of the vial pressing against the fabric. It was something a supply-carrying ninja should always look out for. And of course, what always went well with poison?

Itachi was still in the doorframe, gazing at Sakura through his Sharingan-tinted red eyes. He didn't speak, just watched her movements. Kakashi was ready to interfere in case some real fighting went down, but neither of them moved. Sakura looked anxious; sweat was forming on her brow as her eyes darted from Itachi to Kakashi. The tension in the air was thick.

"Sakura," Kakashi finally spoke, "please withdraw your hand from your pouch, this is not a fighting ground."

Sakura's hand twitched, but didn't make any move to comply. "You said you were going to tell me what's going on, and instead you lead me to the Akatsuki? To another enemy?"

"I'm going to keep my promise," Kakashi said in a serious tone.

"What, are you going to tell me that you need them to assist you in 'informing' me? Oh, let me guess; they're our friends," Sakura snapped in a bitter and sarcastic tone.

"Correct." Kakashi watched as her mouth twitched. He actually felt really sorry for his former student.

"Don't joke with me. The only reason I'm not gone and _probably_ leaving an easily traceable trail is because somehow I still trust you." For the moment, Sakura decided not to care about his affiliation with the Akatsuki. It seemed so unimportant...buried underneath everything else she underwent.

"Then come inside," Itachi said, finally speaking.

Sakura nodded to the missing-nin and followed Kakashi into the old castle. Sakura's first impression was that of a building that was built to be impressive and unique. The entrance hall was long, with no doors on either side. It opened up to a kind of catwalk that ran around the four sides of the room, with two equally proportioned doors on each wall and four on the bottom wall, two on each side of the split from the entrance hall. There was no middle of the room; instead, there was a view of the floor below. Sakura leaned over the railing and saw the final steps of the stairs across the gap lead down into a plain tatami room.

Kakashi beckoned her to the stairs, which Itachi was already descending. She scrambled, catching up, slightly eager to see the downstairs.

Although it wasn't noticeable from the first floor (or was it the second?), the room was actually also built to open up underneath the entrance hall, making the room twice as large. Sakura was unimpressed by the lack of décor and almost groaned when the only thing that was present in the bottom room was only one door. Kakashi slid the door open and the party stepped through it into another hallway. However, beyond that was the first sign that people actually lived here.

The room they had entered was a living room of sorts, with a few short tables surrounded by cushions, wooden bowls with a few leftover grains of rice sticking to the bottom, books left open all around the room, clay animals and models were lined up neatly in the corner, stacks of puzzles and strategy games were stacked up high next to a pile of Icha Icha Paradise novels. Sakura couldn't help but smile at how homely the room appeared.

Doors were also neatly placed around the room, three on the left and right walls, two on each side of the south wall, and one large door on the north wall. They went through the north door and into a kitchen, where all appliances were in place. The actual dining area was a step down from the kitchen, near the wall where a Land of Wind-native piece of art watched over the table.

Sakura was surprised to find two people sitting at the table, one very tall and blue and the other of regular height and blond with a ponytail. They were both clad in Akatsuki cloaks.

"We have returned," Itachi said to their backs.

They turned. Sakura recognized the blue man as the one who had fought against her in the battle; the blond one she didn't know. Said man spoke when he saw her. "I told ya not to flaunt them off to me Kakashi; you know I'm poor, yeah."

Kakashi chuckled. "I didn't hire her. She's the carrier of 'it'."

Sakura was tired of that word and the effect it had on people. The man's expression changed and he eyed her like she was a cannon ready to fire. "Oh, well pardon me. 'It' transferred?" he asked.

The shark man—Kisame, was it, snickered. "So you weren't lying."

Itachi sat down opposite from his fellow organization members. "Sit down," he said, looking at Kisame but talking to Sakura.

She decided it was in her best interest to listen to Itachi. She sat on the closest cushion, next to the blond man, while Kakashi chose to sit next to Itachi. She looked at the man and her eyes met baby blues.

He smiled at her, albeit cautiously. "Hiya there, young lady. Name's Deidara, yeah."

Sakura didn't know if she should introduce herself, but a glance from Itachi quickly remedied that doubt. "I'm Sakura Haruno," she replied quickly.

"Yeah yeah, we don't have time for that. Sakura, Itachi, Kisame, Kakashi," the ANBU said, pointing at everyone, himself last. "Got it, good. Down to business."

"Down to business? I hope that involves explaining to me everything that's going on." Sakura was not in the mood.

"Of course, where do you want to start?" Kakashi asked.

"Let's start with 'it'," Sakura replied.

Kakashi chuckled in an uncomfortable tone. "I knew you'd start with that. Do you remember a story I told Team 7 when you were all still Genin?"

"You told us plenty of stories." Sakura missed that. Kakashi always had great stories. They always ended up teaching some sort of lesson. Except... "There was this one story...there was a huge ninja war, long ago, that would never end unless someone found a way to stop it. So, the leaders of all the countries got together and constructed an underground network of explosives that, if there was too fighting, would explode underneath every major village in the world. So, everyone went to peace for fear of triggering the explosions."

"The story now takes place long ago? Man, it sure has changed over the few years it's been alive, yeah" Deidara interrupted, sounding slightly bitter.

"A few years? I thought it was an old legend," Sakura said.

Deidara laughed. "An old legend? The chain was built in the not-so-distant past."

Sakura tensed. "You're kidding me! There's _not_ actually an explosive network!" she cried.

Itachi nodded. "The chain was built to create a checks-and-balances system between the Hidden Villages. However, no matter how much fighting is done, the network will not activate. Instead, they created a powerful locking seal on each explosive container and a duplicate. If the duplicate is unlocked, the originals are unlocked which creates a massive worldwide crisis. Everyone was planning to create seals of their own, so no one country would be in power. However, the Fourth Hokage discovered a major flaw with the seal. The seal is like a parasite, it feeds off of nourishment from people. It can only live within flesh and blood. It also has a defense mechanism. Whenever it thinks it is in danger, it will either jump to another person, or keep itself on its host. Whenever it jumps, however, its lifespan would go down. If the seal's lifespan runs out, its power to contain the lock is destroyed...along with the world. The Fourth Hokage learned this and needed to work on finding a way to destroy the seal without activating it. So, he stole the seal for himself. The other Hidden Villages thought that he was trying to take all the power, which started the war, which resulted in the Kyuubi appearing, and pandemonium, and the eventual death of the Fourth. The seal was lost in the battle, and the Third Hokage wanted it back, but he had no intentions of getting rid of it. He wanted to keep it to keep the others in check."

Sakura was stunned. "The Third didn't seem like that kind of type."

Itachi smirked lightly. "Oh, he was."

Kisame reached around Deidara and tapped Sakura on the back, right where the symbol was. "Luckily, we found the seal before The Fifth did."

Sakura should have known she was the seal-bearer as soon as they talked about it jumping onto bodies. Suddenly the room felt cold. "I have it?" she asked in a quiet voice.

"It looks like it," Kakashi said.

_That's impossible. I have a weapon that can cause the destruction of the entire WORLD...on my back? With me, everywhere I go?_

"It took us a long time to find it. We thought that it would be at the point of origin, in the crater where the network began," Itachi continued.

"Tsunade tried to kill me...because of this thing?" Sakura asked, more to herself than anyone in particular.

Kakashi watched her face darken. She was balancing a mixture of sadness and anger. The room was silent for a few minutes, until Sakura finally spoke up again. He assumed she had been settling some inner turmoil.

"Why do you want the seal?" the pinkette asked, composing herself.

"We wanna destroy the goddamn thing, yeah," Deidara said.

"Why would you want to do that? I thought you guys were all for the destruction of the world," Sakura pointed out.

The three Akatsuki members and Kakashi exchanged solemn looks. Deidara scratched the back of his head. "I don't know how to put this. Itachi, why don't you explain...yeah."

Itachi blinked, some sort of sadness seeming to fall over him. "...About eleven years ago...when my brother, yourself, and the rest of your ninja class were around eight...and I was twelve...The Third Hokage decided to test out the Theory of Mass Sacrifice, derived from the Mass Sacrifice Jutsu," he explained. The Uchiha's voice was lined with a sort of loneliness. "So, he decided to send his ANBU squad to commit mass genocide on each Hidden Village...even his own."

_Mass genocide? That's horrible..._Sakura thought. She looked at Kisame and Deidara, who looked uncomfortable and angry. She focused her attention back on Itachi.

"That's where the destruction of the Hidden Village of Rocks came from," Itachi said, nodding to Deidara, "and where the Kaguya clan's murders originated," to Kisame this time, "and where the destruction of the Uchiha clan came from."

It took Sakura a moment to register what that meant. Her response was slow, but quickly became horrified. "No..."

"And of course, what better way to cover all this up by blaming all of this on someone? Or rather, nine strong ninja who could easily do what Konoha did. And better yet, leaving survivors to back up this story? When Sasuke saw me standing over Mother and Father's bodies, covered in blood, what could he have thought?" Itachi wondered out loud.

Sakura's hands curled into fists. "No...you're lying...the Akatsuki can't be...innocent! You're horrible murderers! You all...you..." she didn't even know how to finish her sentence.

"That's how it is, yeah," Deidara spoke up. "We get blamed for things we had no part in. Good cover up, aint it, yeah?"

Sakura suddenly felt really small. So many things happened and she was part of it all, but compared to the destruction of the world and the betrayal of Konoha and the giant lie that was the Akatsuki...she was so insignificant to it all.

"You'll be staying here for a while," Itachi said, switching subjects as if they were casually talking about the weather before, "until we can figure out how to destroy the seal. By now, you're probably being put into the bingo book under some false accusation."

"Don't worry; we won't do too much poking and prodding," Deidara said with a laugh. Kisame gave him a death glare.

Sakura felt the need to be alone. "I want to go to my room," she said quietly.

Kakashi stood up. "I'll escort you," he said, walking around to where she was sitting and offering his hand, which she took, straightening up unenthusiastically.

He led her back into the living room and through the middle door on the left. Down a long hallway, Sakura found a lone door. "We're putting your room in the middle of the castle for protection. It's actually the king's chamber, we're assuming so due to size and the extra room," Kakashi explained, opening the door.

The room was fit for a king, at least at one point; all the old furniture had been taken out and replaced with regular necessities: a large bed parallel to the door, a bureau, a vanity, an empty bookshelf, a nightstand, and a rocking chair. Sakura was pleased to find the extra room had been converted into a personal bathroom. It mirrored her bathroom back in Konoha, with different flooring and wall.

Sakura didn't have to say anything; Kakashi left without a word. He knew she wanted to be left alone. He couldn't imagine how she was feeling at the moment.

Sakura sunk into her dry bathtub, hugging her knees, letting her manage her thoughts. The emotions that were dormant before all came spilling out.

First came anger. Anger at herself for going to the battle in the first place, anger at the Third Hokage for creating the network and pretending to be a generous old man, and anger at Konoha for betraying her and everyone else with their lies and fabrications. Anger was replaced by fear. Fear of the seal on her back, fear that it would unlock and turn the world into a fiery inferno, and fear of all the ninja who would go after her to try and obtain the seal for themselves or just kill her to receive recognition for slaying a 'dangerous' missing-nin. Then, sadness took her over. She would probably never see Naruto, or Ino, or Konoha itself again. The Akatsuki were falsely accused and despised, and they had to live their lives under constant attack. Her former teacher had turned her back on her student and ordered her assassination.

Sakura thought of Sasuke. _Sasuke knew about Itachi. That's why...he left..._

**XxXxXx**

_**Sakura couldn't stop the tears from falling down her pale cheeks as she watched the blue and white fan on her teammate's back grow farther and farther away. "Sasuke, please don't leave again!" she begged, hiccupping from her crying.**_

_**Sasuke paused, his long bangs blowing gently in the cold wind. He shook his head, not turning to face her. "Sakura, I can't do this anymore."**_

"**_What do you mean? You're a great ninja! We all forgive you! It's been a year since you came back, we let it go!" Sakura exclaimed, wiping her face._**

"_**I know...but...you wouldn't know what it feels like to have everything you knew and believed suddenly turn out to be a huge lie." Sasuke sounded like he was about to cry himself.**_

"_**I'll help you through whatever problems you're going through. Just please, don't leave again. I don't think I can take it." Sakura stepped closer to her friend.**_

"**_You have Naruto, and Ino, and so many others. If I had known what I do now, maybe I'd have what you have. Maybe I'd even have you," Sasuke said, sounding distant._**

_**Sakura shook her head. "You can have me! I love you. I've always declared it with stupid hormones raging through me, but I really mean it."**_

_**Sasuke smiled sadly, though Sakura didn't see it. "I know, Sakura. I know."**_

_**Sakura wiped her eyes of tears again. When she opened them, he was gone.**_

**XxXxXx**

It had been two years since that day. Sakura buried her face in her knees. "Sasuke...to have everything I know and believe be a lie...now I really do know what it feels like."

She silently wept for hours that night.

**XxXxXx**

Whew, looooong chapter. I had to fit all the explaining in one chapter. I'm sorry if it sucks, I really started out well. Oh, and just in case everyone's majorly confused, I'm not really following the Naruto timeline. Sakura and the rest of the rookie nine are all 19, and Itachi is 23. Sasuke came back to Konoha at age 16, and left again at age 17. Ok, got it? I hope so, because I'm even confusing myself.

Yes, I know. Itachi's a good guy in this fic. I know it's very AU, but that's just the way the fic goes. Despite this, Itachi isn't a happy-go-lucky guy. I sure as hell wouldn't be if I was blamed for killing my whole clan and hunted on a daily basis. But, that's just me.


	7. Cute, But He Sure Can't Cook

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.  
****Slight AU warning.  
****Don't forget to review when you're finished reading!**

**XXX**

**Unknown Deceit**

The Author Speaks: **bolded lines** are Inner Sakura. _Italicized lines _are regular thoughts from anybody. **_Bolded italicized _**lines are flashbacks.

**Chapter 7 – Cute, But He Sure Can't Cook**

Naruto had always told his pink-haired friend that after a rough day, waking up the next morning is almost like being reborn. Kind of like having a messed-up drawing erased and a clean sheet of paper being supplied. Sure, the drawing tools are already given, but with them anything can be drawn.

Sakura felt that way when she woke up in her new room. The events of the night before still hung over her, but they didn't seem to attack her emotions as much. _A new day, a fresh mind, and perhaps a way to make things better,_ she thought as she swung out of bed. She didn't expect to erase herself of all her normal activities and ways at once, but in time she would adapt to this new lifestyle she would now lead.

The presence of a large bathroom made her feel better. She had fallen asleep in the clothes she wore before, and her hair was sticking up. Opening the drawers lined up underneath the sink, she found a comb and brushed her short hair down.

"_**You should really grow your hair out," Ino said, unsuccessfully putting Sakura's hair into a ponytail.**_

"_**I'm a kunoichi, not a fashion model," the pinkette replied.**_

"_**Do you still take what that Sound bitch said to heart? Listen, although what she said is true, that doesn't mean you don't have to have your hair the way you want it."**_

Sakura smiled lightly, despite her heart panging. Ino was right. She did miss her glossy long hair. She put the comb back in the drawer and left her bathroom, pausing for a moment to look at the tub. She shook her head and re-entered the bedroom, locating her sandals and slipping them on.

Walking down the empty hallway by herself felt kind of intimidating. She slid open the door carefully and entered the living room.

Deidara was stuffing himself full of rice while watching a red-haired young man sculpt with a good amount of clay. A man wearing an orange wooden mask was reading a book through what appeared to be one eye-hole, and a Jounin from Sunagakure was writing in a puzzle book of some sort.

Sakura didn't really know what to say once they all noticed her. They stopped what they were doing and peered at her.

_Awkward..._Sakura thought, managing a smile at them.

"Good morning Sakura! You sure sleep late, yeah," Deidara was the first to speak, his mouth full.

Sakura nodded and looked at the clock. Ten past nine...it was late.

The blond laughed. "So shy! Don't be, dearest. Shall I alleviate the discomfort with introductions?" he asked.

"Ah...sure," Sakura said lamely. _Deidara's quite the smooth-talker._

"Sure it is. First, this is my baka partner Sasori. He's a fellow artist, a little serious," Deidara began. "This one is Tobi; don't mind the mask," he said, pointing to the orange-masked man with the book; he waved at Sakura, "and this is Akimu, he's a spy in Suna and one of our guards," Deidara finished, pointing to the Jounin.

Sakura nodded to all of them. "Hello," she said.

"This is Sakura Haruno, the carrier of destruction! Literally," Deidara said with a grin.

Akimu smiled at her. "I greatly pity your situation. I wish I could relate," he said.

"Nice to meet you! I thought we were gonna have to protect some old hag—but you're hot!" Tobi exclaimed.

"A pleasure. I wonder if I could entertain you with my art skills," Sasori said, bowing his head.

_Such a colorful bunch, _Sakura thought. "Thank you all for protecting me while you figure out how we can stop all this horror."

"It is our duty to right the wrongs of Konoha," Akimu said. "I wish Suna had not been a part of all this."

"Sasori, you chipped a foot," Deidara pointed out, poking the leg of a sculpted swan.

Sasori pushed him away roughly. "Do not touch it."

"Sasori's got a stick up his ass all the time when it comes to art. We're both artists, but he can't handle my opinions of art, so he's always on edge," Deidara said, his cyan eyes scanning the sculptures on the table.

"Honestly, who would agree with what you believe, Deidara? Sakura-san, what do you think? Is true art long-lasting, or quick to depart?" Sasori asked, rolling a paintbrush around in his pale fingers.

"Ah...I think...art is long-lasting. There are a lot of paintings from a long time ago that are still around today," Sakura replied.

Sasori smirked. "You see, Deidara?"

Deidara rolled his eyes. "And if she had agreed with me, you'd have fifteen attacks, yeah."

Sakura giggled. _Things sure are lively around here._

"Why are we bothering you anyway? Go get some breakfast," Deidara said.

**XxXxXx**

The kitchen had no scent at all, which confused Sakura. Entering the kitchen gave clear view of all appliances. No pots were boiling, no fires crackling on the stove, no smell of cooking salmon or bacon. Instead, there was a giant rice cooker filled to the brim that Itachi was dipping a spoon into and filling up wooden bowls with the steamy white stuff.

Sakura cautiously approached him, before deciding to ease up a little. She couldn't remain awkward forever. "Good morning Itachi-san!" she exclaimed.

"Good morning," he replied in a soft, deep monotone, handing her a rice bowl and chopsticks.

She decided to eat in the kitchen. She plopped onto a cushion and began to eat, glancing over at Itachi every few seconds. She was deciding what to say. "So, um...it's your turn to cook breakfast?" she asked.

"Yes."

"Ah. Well I suppose you aren't that great then," Sakura said. She put a hand over her mouth straight afterward. "I'm sorry, that didn't come out properly, I—"

"I understand what you meant," he said. "I don't cook anyway. We do this in shifts."

"When's my turn?" Sakura asked curiously.

"Check with Akimu. He has the schedule."

_Not exactly Mr. Personality, _Sakura thought. _It's because of ridicule and being framed._

"Itachi, I don't know how to say this, but...I'm sorry about what Konoha put you through. I know that doesn't mean much," Sakura began.

"Do not apologize for Konoha; you are not its representative," Itachi replied. "You are merely one kunoichi within the entire city. You are slightly more important due to your ninja status, and people who you don't even know will speak about you every now and then, but other than that, you don't hold merit to represent an apology of slaughter."

**Harsh, isn't he?**

Sakura agreed with her inner self. She understood his view, however.

"We do not speak of our accusations within these walls," he said.

They were silent for a few minutes. Sakura finished half her bowl, before Itachi spoke again.

"Why are you sitting in here? The other room is much livelier," he pointed out.

"You seem lonely, waiting here. I don't want to leave you alone. It's rude," Sakura answered.

Itachi chuckled. "...You're the first person who's stayed in my presence when I've been in here."

"No one talks to you?" Sakura asked, getting up to leaf through the refrigerator.

"I am part of many conversations. They tend to leave me alone in here, however. What are you looking for?" Itachi watched her push jars and fruits aside.

"Soy sauce. The rice is so boring." Sakura was having no luck. She moved aside a jar of pickles, when she felt a warm hand touch her own. Surprised, she jerked away and nearly hit Itachi in the face. "Oh hell, I'm sorry! You surprised me!"

Itachi let out a chuckle and pulled out a jar of soy sauce. "I was getting it for you."

She accepted it with a thank you. As the jar went from one set of hands to another, the kunoichi studied Itachi closely. He was quite handsome with a define chin, ruby Sharingan eyes, and tied black hair. The skin impressions in-between his eyes gave him a permanently tired look, but it did nothing to impede on his sharp eyes.

**Sexier than Sasuke, that's for sure.**

_Don't say that! I love Sasuke, nothing will change that._

Speaking of Sasuke, Sakura had a question for the Uchiha. "Do you keep in contact with Sasuke?"

Itachi looked at her in mild surprise. "That is..."

"None of my business," Sakura answered for him. "I'm being a baka again. Don't pay attention to me."

Itachi nodded silently and stirred the rice. While Sakura finished her breakfast, people filtered in and out of the kitchen to put their bowls in the sink. She met a few more nin-spies and three Akatsuki members named Hidan, Kakuzu, and Zetsu. Zetsu frightened her at first glance, with his half black, half white head surrounded by a giant venus flytrap plant and noticeably split personality (all of this caused from experiments done on him), however he actually was quite kind...or irritable, depending on his mood. Sakura didn't really want to admit it, but the way they appeared, they did seem like a good fit for criminal description. Especially with Zetsu, Kakuzu, Tobi, and Sasori (whom was a living puppet, apparently). Somehow, it didn't seem to bother her that much.

Sakura strode over to the sink and dropped her bowl in there. After counting the number of bowls, she began to stack them up neatly, turning on the water to warm and grabbing a scrubber and soap.

Itachi eyed her. "You don't have to help me."

"I like washing dishes. You go enjoy yourself." She sounded like a mother talking to an eager child.

"It'll be finished twice as quick if I assist," Itachi said, taking another bowl and a scrubber.

"If you insist, Itachi-san."

"Call me Itachi."

**XxXxXx**

Sakura and Itachi left the kitchen about ten minutes later, smelling of soap. Kakashi was sitting in the 'living room', reading a volume of Icha Icha Paradise that was falling apart. Deidara's mouths (on his hands...surprise surprise) were practicing clay-chewing...or whatever, and Akimu was asleep in the corner.

_Such a reliable guard, _Sakura thought with a giggle.

Kakashi looked up at the sound of a female. "Ah, Sakura!" he exclaimed. He put down his novel and picked up a leather-bound black book, which Sakura recognized immediately. He opened it and threw it at her. "Take a look at that."

Sakura read her bingo book profile.

NAME: Haruno, Sakura

DATE OF BIRTH: March 28

PREVIOUS AFFILIATION: Konohagakure

AGE OF DETACHMENT: 19

HAIR: Pink

EYES: Green

BLOOD TYPE: O

RANK: Tokubetsu Jounin

REGISTRATION: #005749

SPECIALIZATION: Chakra control and medicine

CRIME: Attempted murder of Fifth Hokage and Konohagakure sector of ANBU Black Ops Unit, selling secrets to criminal organization Akatsuki

INSTRUCTIONS: Kill on sight. Do not attempt genjutsu, this will be useless.

Sakura sighed while Itachi and Deidara read it over her shoulder. "Nice picture," the blond commented on the picture of her above her profile; smiling brightly.

"They asked me if I had any intimidating pictures of you. In all honesty, I didn't, but I don't think they believed me," Kakashi informed them.

"Oooh, attempted murder of the Fifth. You're going to make a lot of enemies, yeah," Deidara said.

"Selling secrets to Akatsuki? They'll blame the recent battle on you," Akimu said.

Sakura sighed. "This is horrible. How can they get away with this?"

"It's simple, if you have enough power and influence. You best be getting used to your accusations," Itachi said.

Sakura handed the book back to Kakashi. She hoped that they would find a remedy to the seal. She didn't want to think about going to a supermarket with someone pointing at her and screaming her name in fear while she's asking Itachi if the muskmelon she's holding is ripe.

**XxXxXx**

Finally, Sakura gets in a conversation with Itachi. Oooh, loving in the fridge! Ah, I kid. I hope you enjoy this chapter. I don't know if that's the actual layout of the bingo book, but I had to do something. I know Sakura's probably acting a little more normal about this than she should, but she's got to get used to the new lifestyle sometime! Also, about the unnamed Akatsuki member...well, that person doesn't exist. Neither does the leader. I can't believe I even stayed up to finish this chapter, marching band competition was brutal. Very tiring. Anyway, review!


	8. Nostalgia and Jealousy

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.  
****Slight AU warning.  
****Don't forget to review when you're finished reading!**

**XXX**

**Unknown Deceit**

The Author Speaks: Regarding **Sakura0890's** question, I went to competitions in Rockford and Marengo, Illinois.

I'm so excited! I have 40 alerts for this story. I know it may not seem like much to all of those hot-shot authors out there, but for me...well, it makes me happy.

**Bolded lines** are Inner Sakura. _Italicized lines _are regular thoughts from anybody. **_Bolded italicized _**lines are flashbacks.

**Chapter 8 – Nostalgia and Jealousy**

Two weeks had passed by since the day Sakura was input in the bingo book. She found that the castle was a perfect place to hide inside whenever sadness took over her emotions. She got lost twice, finally wandering into the more technologically equipped living room a half an hour after she disappeared behind a new door, curious. She had thrown herself on Akimu, who was tuning a radio, and laughed when he went hysterical, screaming of an intruder. She had also taken note of how much everyone ate. Her cooking was admired by her new friends, and they deemed her the official cook, thanks to a suggestion by Kakuzu.

Once she had walked into Tobi's room on accident—the doors all looked the same—to find him wearing a dojo kimono...and no mask, revealing a handsome young face. Sakura noticed the eye he was prone to use to look out through the eyehole was a soft teal. The other eye was completely blank. It was just a white eyeball, with no pupil or even an iris. She wasn't surprised to hear he was half-blind. As for the kimono, he worked at a training dojo for samurai.

It became apparent that a lot of her fellow house-mates held jobs. Sasori worked as a designer of crystal figurines, the kind children would give to their mothers on Mother's Day. Zetsu worked with man-eating plants while Kakuzu worked at a horse racetrack. The pink-haired woman found it ironic that S-class criminals were intermingling daily with regular citizens and not being discovered, especially since they were the most-watched ninja in the world.

She kept an updated copy of the bingo book in a pocket. There was something entrancing about her profile. She couldn't stop looking at it, reading it over several times before flipping to another criminal, wondering which ninja were innocent and which were true criminals. It was something she had never questioned before. If you were in the bingo book, you were deadly, ruthless, and evil. But how far did corruption go? Konoha was the biggest country in the world, and it most of it was a complete lie. Ninja weren't as sacred as they were portrayed by regular citizens. Rules seemed to reflect a leader's wishes, and countries acted like they couldn't survive without a leader.

Naruto would make a good leader, with some pampering. He wasn't corrupt. That was one thing she was sure of. Sakura was spinning a kunai with her pointer finger, thinking of Tsunade. Could she kill the sannin? Sakura inwardly laughed at the thought. Her skills had grown, but she wasn't even close to achieving the rank that Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru held. It was a laughable thought. If she even had a fraction of their strength, Sasuke wouldn't have left Konoha. Her example would lead him to believe that there was hope for him in the system of learning.

The kunai stopped in mid-spin, pointing at the bathroom wall in front of her. The cool back of the bathtub pressed against her naked back. She wore a backless white top, something she hadn't dared wear in Konoha. For one thing, Tsunade would have scolded her, and Naruto would have called her a civilian tramp. Kunoichi, with an exception of Ino, acted more manly than they should. Tsunade's humongous bust did not go well with her muscular arms.

"_**What are you staring at?" Tsunade asked the fourteen-year old pink-haired girl who was ogling her cleavage. "I'm not into girls, sorry."**_

"_**I'm not a lesbian!" Sakura exclaimed, a flush creeping up her cheeks. "I just don't understand why you have boobs so big when you're a kunoichi!"**_

**_Tsunade's eyebrow rose. Sakura had small boobs, sure, but that didn't mean all kunoichi were less than a B cup. "Let me show you something." She flexed her arms, showing off incredible muscles, almost masculine._**

_**Sakura's eyes nearly shot out of her head. She looked down at her own arms. Skinny and...there. Like twigs. She realized she should start eating more. Training wouldn't be so bad either.**_

"_**I have a chest some girls would die for, but they don't impede my abilities as a ninja. I train relentlessly, knowing that I can't let two knockers get in my way. For kunoichi, they look at their chests like it's a kind of deformity they have to overcome, but it's foolish to think I'm any less of a ninja just because my chest is huge. You gotta work with them, if you understand." Tsunade poked Sakura's tiny things playfully. The aspiring kunoichi yelped and stepped back. **_

"_**What was that for?!" Sakura asked. 'Getting violated already,' she thought.**_

"_**Those have nothing to do with your maturation as a ninja. Separate the puberty from the jutsu, if you will."**_

Sakura smiled. She couldn't kill Tsunade, and although she was so angry at the woman for betraying her, there was something that was stopping her from actually completing the thought. It was their bond of love, a teacher-student bond, a mother-daughter bond, a friend-friend bond. She was a harsh but encouraging teacher, an impatient but loving mother, and a sarcastic but always-there-for-you friend.

**Except now. She's not here for you now.**

Was...

Now she was a backstabber.

And still, Sakura couldn't summon up the courage to go after her.

She pocketed the kunai and stepped out of the tub when she felt her stomach rumble. _Meal time,_ she thought. _I should bake some pretzels._

She left her room and passed by Itachi in the hall. He watched her pass silently. She stopped and looked back at him.

The silence wasn't meant to be awkward. Sakura merely observed the Sharingan-user, with a look of regret in her eyes.

_I was taken from Tsunade and given to this man. The irony pains me._

Sakura yielded to the silence first. "Sorry. I was just...lost in thought."

Itachi didn't respond. He passed her by silently, heading to her room.

"Hey! What are you going in there for?!" Sakura asked, mortified.

Itachi slid open her door. "...Spy equipment," he merely stated, stepping through the frame and shutting the door behind him.

_Of course! How stupid can I be, to forget such a thing? _she thought. She sighed. Sometimes, she wondered if Itachi thought her stupid. He wasn't very social to anyone. The pink-head kind of wished she could change that.

**XxXxXx**

Around a week later...

"Alright, it's shopping time!" Deidara announced cheerfully, punching the air with a silly look on his face.

Everyone in the living room exchanged glances.

"I have a plant to take care of," Zetsu remarked, heading to his room without any further discussion.

"Um...I hear a whistling sound. Must be my tea!" Tobi exclaimed, nearly diving into the kitchen.

"I just have things," Sasori said in a monotone voice, turning away to work on his sculptures.

Deidara narrowed his eyes. "You guys are so unbelievable, yeah."

"I'll go," Sakura offered. She was curled up in a corner reading a detective novel. It was filled with drinking and sarcasm, things she found entertaining.

"You're the one we're protecting; it's a bit foolish to have you running around everywhere," Akimu said.

"Hey, she's not our prisoner! It's not like we can't keep her safe if she's in disguise. Sasori, you dress her up. Itachi, Akimu, Uida, and I will go with her, yeah," Deidara ordered.

_Dress me up?_ Sakura cast a glance over at Sasori, who finished his work and slid over to where she was sitting. He rested his hands against her hair and concentrated, sliding a bucket of black paint over to him and swishing a few fingers in the gooey liquid. He rubbed the paint against her hair and seemingly amplified it with his chakra, spreading the paint throughout her pink locks and turning her hair black.

"Ah!" Sakura started. She had never dyed her hair before.

"She doesn't look that different," Uida, a ninja from Hoshiga, remarked.

"Hold on a minute, art cannot be rushed," Sasori replied. He handed her a pair of blue contact lenses. "Put those on and find common clothing, something that a ninja would never wear on a mission."

Sakura complied, and emerged from her room a few minutes later wearing tight snakeskin pants and a red top that had a metal ring that showcased her cleavage. Her boots were high-heeled.

Deidara reddened. "Damn...you'd make a great slut, yeah."

Sakura laughed. "Thanks, Deidara. But shouldn't I be wearing one of those cloaks?" she pointed to what the blond had on.

"I gotta take this off. The village we're near is a checkpoint for many Konoha nin, so we're always careful." Deidara took off his cloak to reveal regular clothing underneath.

Sakura cast a sideways glance at Itachi, who was wearing a blue blouse that had an unbuttoned collar, and dark blue jeans with plenty of chains.

"I've never seen Sasuke wearing regular clothing, I think. I bet he'd look as good as you," she remarked.

Itachi's black eyes narrowed, and he turned away. "Let us go," he said to Deidara, who was tying up his hair.

They all filed outside, Uida and Akimu checking the barrier as they exited. Sakura noticed that Itachi was acting more sulky than usual.

_Maybe it's just one of his off-days..._

**XxXxXx**

The village was small and well-populated. It was a shinobi village, as many people walking around wore hitai-ate. Sakura felt a little paranoid as she checked the vending carts and the storefronts, looking at all the merchandise, but eased herself knowing that Itachi was nearby. He seemed like the kind of person who could keep her safe.

She counted the small amount of ryo Akimu had provided for her own little shopping spree. Inspecting a box of syrup-covered anko dumplings fondly, she wondered if it was selfish to spend money, that wasn't even her own, on something that she would only make use of.

_I'm the 'princess' of the castle, but the reason doesn't really please me. _She wasn't fond of the whole 'destruction-of-the-world' thing. _But still!_ She thought, a bit more cheerful, _I haven't had these in ages! _She bought the box.

Itachi silently stood watch at the corner of a fruits store. He did not like shopping. It used to give him a sort of happy pleasure when he went with Sasuke, but now all it awarded him were paranoia and vigilance. A fight could break out at any moment, and if that happened—they'd have to find a new village. Or perhaps even a new hideout.

Also, the arrival of Sakura Haruno did little to ease the situation. Now, he had to keep constant watch over her...

Actually, he found himself slightly over-protective. Deidara had pointed that out to him once.

"I've noticed you're always hanging around Sakura-chan," he had said to the sharingan holder.

"...It is to keep her safe," he had replied.

"I get where you're coming from, but it's not like she's alone all the time. There's always a bunch of us in every room, except the kitchen." Deidara had smirked. "Is someone taking a _liking_ to little Sakura-chan?"

Itachi's eyes had narrowed. 'Liking'...he didn't like the way the blond stressed the word. "We both happen to find the kitchen a comfortable place."

"But she likes bathrooms the most, yeah," Deidara had poked Itachi playfully. "If I'm not mistaken I think you like being with her! And you're the most lone person I've ever met!"

Itachi's eyes fell to the grass he was standing on. He didn't like being with people. He cared about all of the Akatsuki members (although he'd never admit it), but he just didn't like company. He always retreated to his room whenever people began to invade the place he was in.

...Except when Sakura was involved.

He always took puzzles and books and would go into the kitchen and sit down and solve them. It was a relaxing way to pass the time, and he enjoyed sudoku very much.

All the time, Sakura would enter the kitchen in the next half-hour and begin making lunch or sit down across from him with her own puzzle book. And it didn't bother him one bit. Not even when she made conversation.

Actually, she didn't really make it, as she was the only one who talked. But Itachi did not find himself annoyed by listening or even giving a response every now and then. The only time he ever abandoned her was when she began to talk about Sasuke.

Itachi wasn't sure he understood himself.

He watched Sakura collect fruits and vegetables for upcoming meals, and felt a strange urge to go up to her. Not to say anything, just to be by her side. He did so, and she started when she felt his presence next to her.

"Isei! Don't do that; I nearly had a heart-attack!" she exclaimed, nearly dropping the huge bundle of squash she was holding.

Itachi almost chuckled from hearing her use his alias. He took a good amount of the squash from her silently. "Ryo," he said, and she handed him the sum of the squash.

"Shopping is a lot of fun isn't it? The day is beautiful," Sakura sighed happily.

Itachi nodded. She was correct. "Soon it will be winter," he stated, paying for the squash and taking the bags.

"It will be even more beautiful once it snows." Sakura smiled. She loved all seasons.

"The winter is cold and bitter, and dark," Itachi said to himself, solemnly. Sakura heard him.

"Our own views are different. I encourage you to look at the winter in a more positive light. You won't be disappointed." She took the bags from him.

Itachi stared as she beamed up at him. How long had he known this girl? It seemed like she was an old friend, and yet it had been not to long ago. It had taken years just to get comfortable with the Akatsuki members. But only a few weeks for Sakura.

He didn't notice her walk away. He was too lost in his thoughts, and when he saw her lack of being he nearly panicked (mentally). But he located her walking to a rice paddy and he relaxed.

Sakura carefully walked down the side of the paddy, making sure not to get her feet wet. She felt a little too modern for a village such as this, but then again she enjoyed simplicity. She heard the sounds of footsteps on grass and noticed three just-teenagers walking on the other side of the small paddy. Two boys and one girl, all wearing hitai-ate. The girl had long red hair and sported amber eyes. The two boys both had varying shades of brown hair, one spiky and one straight.

"You're such an idiot," said the female, hitting the spiky-haired boy on the head, flushing.

"Come on Yumiko! I was just asking you on a date," whined the boy.

"Not in a million years Usuchi. There's only one person who has my heart," Yumiko said, smiling at the other boy present, who had his hands in his pockets and looked sulky.

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

"Seiji's going to the Winter Welcoming Festival with me!" Yumiko announced proudly.

"I'm not going to that stupid thing, and definitely not with you," Seiji answered, picking up his pace and leaving Yumiko and Usuchi behind.

Yumiko seemed to quiet down a little. "But..."

Usuchi glowered at Seiji. "What a jerk! I wish he wasn't on my team!"

"It's not that big a deal Usuchi. Just drop it," Yumiko said to him.

Usuchi narrowed his eyes. He then perked up. "Hey Yumi-chan! How about I buy you some ramen, hmm? A nice bowl with fried shrimp!"

Yumiko smiled gently. "Thank you, Usuchi. I'd like that."

Sakura watched them go towards the ramen shop while Seiji walked in the opposite direction. Watching them made her think of her own old team. Yumiko obsessing over Seiji; herself obsessing over Sasuke; jealous Usuchi; jealous Naruto.

What also caught her attention was the Winter Welcoming Festival. It sounded like fun. She smiled. _I wonder if the boys would like to go to it. I bet Itachi won't wanna go. I'll have to drag him._

"Hey Seres!" she heard Akimu call her alias. "It's time to go! Daisuke and Isei are waiting for you."

She swung the bags over her shoulder. "I'm coming Akira."

**XxXxXx**

Disguises off and conversation abuzz, Sakura brought up the idea about the festival over dinner. As expected, it was greeted with negative comments.

"They have it every year and we never go. There's no point," Sasori remarked.

"Yeah, but I know you guys have got to be bored being cooped up here. Sure, some of you have work but other than that where do you go? To the village every now and then. And even _then _for like, an hour!" Sakura pointed out.

"We don't do parties," Kakuzu retorted.

"You don't all have to come! But I really want to go. And you can't let me go alone," Sakura said in an innocent little girl voice.

Deidara laughed. "Well in my opinion the festival looks fun but no one wants to go with me!"

"I'll totally go with you!" Sakura said with a smile. Deidara was such a fun-loving guy.

Itachi paused, his chopsticks lingering over his rice bowl. He had been listening to the conversation quietly, eating the pork dinner Sakura had prepared with squash sauce and rice. He had been having a little battle in his head over whether he should appease Sakura and take her to the festival or not, when she agreed to go with Deidara.

He didn't like that.

He didn't like that at _all._

What made no sense was that he was jealous of Deidara. He wasn't a child anymore; he didn't do crushes or jealousy. Suddenly he wasn't hungry.

He stood up and gathered his plates and bowls and walked to dump them in the sink. He felt eyes on him.

"Itachi where're you going?" Deidara asked.

He didn't reply. He walked out of the room slowly, half-hoping that Sakura would tell him to stay. She didn't however, and as he closed the door to the kitchen he heard conversation starting up again.

He felt a pang in his heart as he walked to his room.

**XxXxXx**

Sakura was on edge. Itachi looked really sad as he left the kitchen. She had gone back into the kitchen an hour later, expecting him to be sitting there and doing his puzzles as usual. Except, he wasn't.

She didn't know why she felt so bad. It was like Itachi's sadness hurt her or something. She decided to go see him. Actually, while she had been shopping she had purchased an extra box of anko dumplings for him.

She walked upstairs to his room, which was close to the entrance. She knocked on his door. "Itachi, may I come in?"

There was no reply, so she let herself in.

His room was plain, except for the bed. It had the softest-looking mattress she had ever seen, with silky blue sheets and pillows everywhere. There was a picture on his wall of him and a smiling Sasuke. She narrowed her eyes sadly.

The Uchiha was sitting at his desk, reading. "Itachi?" the pinkette repeated.

He turned his head to acknowledge her, and then went back to reading.

"You seemed down after dinner. Is something up?" she asked.

He didn't reply. Sakura began to get impatient, but maintained herself. "Okay then...well, I bought you something at the village."

She walked to his bed and placed the box of dumplings on it, and turned to leave, deciding it was best to leave him alone, when she heard him speak.

"...I hate sweets."

She spun around and saw him at the bed, holding the box of the syrup-coated dumplings. The kunoichi narrowed her eyes. "I'm sorry," she said sarcastically, "seeing as how you've told me _so _much about yourself I should've known what to get you."

"You never let me finish," Itachi snapped. "Thank you."

Sakura was taken aback. The man was so unpredictable sometimes. "You're welcome."

They stood in silence for a few minutes. "...I'm going to the festival."

"Eh?" Sakura wasn't sure she head Itachi correctly.

"...Go to the festival...with me," Itachi configured his sentence.

Sakura's eyes widened. Since when did the great Uchiha, his loneliness outrivaled only by his younger brother, go to festivals with girls? Actually, it sounded more like a command than a request, but she was flattered nonetheless. She wasn't committed to Deidara, he was going because he wouldn't be alone. "Sure!"

Itachi was surprised at his request and her answer. He reached down and absentmindedly stroked her soft pink hair.

"Itachi, what are you doing?" she asked.

He immediately drew back his arm. "You may go now," he said quickly.

She nodded and bowed awkwardly. After leaving his room, she giggled. "I think I'm finally starting to break open his shell!"

She skipped down to her room.

**XxXxXx**

I'm so sorry for taking so long to update! School has been so busy lately, but I have a five-day weekend so I finally had time to update. So! Itachi's jealous of Deidara over our favorite little kunoichi, eh? I smell romance!

If anyone who's reading this is a fan of Cloud/Aeris can I suggest checking out my new fanfiction called _Eden's Respite._ It's only one chapter so far, but I'm liking the direction! Forewarning, it's an AU.

Hope to see you next update! And PS, can anyone direct me to some good Millia/Zato (or Eddie) fanfictions?


	9. Festival Emotions

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Kotani Kinya's song _Anti-Nostalgic_.  
****Slight AU warning.  
****Don't forget to review when you're finished reading!**

**XXX**

**Unknown Deceit**

**Bolded lines** are Inner Sakura. _Italicized lines _are regular thoughts from anybody. **_Bolded italicized _**lines are flashbacks.

**Chapter 9 – Festival Emotions**

The night of the Winter Welcoming Festival had approached quickly. Before the actual event, Sakura had dragged her bodyguards around to look for clothing. Itachi despised clothes shopping; he deemed his few pairs of shirts and pants good enough for him to last throughout the year. He always wore a cloak to cover his body, anyway.

Their little flower on the other hand was such a girl when a shuriken wasn't slapped in her hand and her ninja outfit donned. She cooked, cleaned, and occasionally criticized their lazing around. She laughed when she found porn underneath Akimu's sheets, and actually went off with the magazine to read it. This was probably the best way to embarrass the ninja.

Deidara seemed a bit put-out when he heard Sakura was going with Itachi, but he got over it. Itachi felt strangely proud when the blond plodded past him, looking grumpy. His feelings were always mixed up when Sakura was involved. Perhaps it was just being near a woman after such a long time without one.

Itachi was now sitting in his room, staring at himself in the vanity. There was a knock at the door, and Sasori came in, wearing his lighter robe meant to be underneath a heavier, fancier robe. "You'd best be getting ready for the Festival. Sakura wants to leave as early as possible, and it began a half-hour ago."

"You're coming too?" Itachi asked, letting down his long, silky dark hair.

"We cannot send Sakura out into a crowded festival with only you and Deidara to keep watch on her. Akimu, Kisame, Tobi, Kakashi, as well as I are going along. We'll be stationed around the village, looking inconspicuous." Sasori smoothed down his ruffled hair. "Do you have robes to change into?"

Itachi snorted. "I'm not classless, just reserved."

Sasori left and Itachi stood up, crossing his room to his closet. He grabbed his fancy robes from its hanger and stripped down, laying the dress pieces on the bed. He first stepped into baggy black pants, and then dressed in a light white robe, then another light black robe over it. He shrugged the final piece over his shoulders. It was a black robe, adorned with sinuous patterns of gold and red leaves dancing on the baggy sleeves and thin red circles unevenly splayed on the bottom front. He tied his robes together with a thick, rope-like golden obi, letting his undergarments be seen at the top of his chest. He wore white socks and red thong sandals to complete his footwear. His combed his hair down, feeling it was unnecessary to primp it. He painted his nails a fine black, and further paled his face with powders.

Observing himself, he knew without a doubt he was a handsome man, and did not find it egotistical to think so. Another thing he abhorred were people who thought that a person was snobbish if they looked their best every day, or if they did not wave away compliments.

He exited the room, nearly tripping from the length of the robes and his awkwardness with wearing thong sandals. Sasori and Akimu were walking downstairs; the puppet looked up and noticed him. He motioned to Akimu, who also looked up at Itachi.

The Uchiha heard them whispering about him when he reached them.

"You look great!" Akimu exclaimed, wearing simplistic green robes with patterns of black dragons.

"Thank you," Itachi replied.

Sasori wore a brown yukata with white open-cut triangles spangled around the belly area. "It is rare to see the cold Itachi adorned in such splendor," he remarked.

Itachi didn't reply to that one. They entered the living room, where everyone who was leaving for the festival had gathered. Kisame was sitting in a blue robe decorated with tiny sharks, reading. Tobi wore a half orange half black robe to match his mask. Kakashi was pacing around the room, wearing a silver baggy kimono top and grey baggy pants. He did not see either Deidara or Sakura.

"Sakura and Deidara have not arrived?" Itachi inquired.

"He said he was going to check on her," Kakashi stated.

"She had better be hot, with all the time she's taking," Tobi said, laughing merrily.

"She's a female; she wants to dress to impress." Kakashi had known her for a long enough time to know that she was always ready for a party or other celebration.

"Well she'd better move her skinny ass," Kisame remarked, taking his attention off his book.

"How long does this festival go on until?" Itachi wondered out loud.

"Until twelve the next morning," Sasori replied. "This festival always falls on the date of the last warm evening before winter, hence the name. It must take a lot of planning."

"You know, that woman's been bringing out our more human sides," Kisame pointed out. "We usually found ourselves too serious to be going to parties. But she's found a way to make us all let loose."

"Maybe we're all just a big bunch of sexually-deprived freaks who are so excited to be around a female our brains go out of whack," Tobi said.

"Maybe that's what you think, but we all know the person who's been affected the most by her is emo-king over here." Akimu pointed to Itachi.

Itachi pursed his lips. "I don't know what to say to that."

"Did I mention how sexy you look?" Tobi asked the dark-haired man. "Because, you look sexy."

"Thank you," Itachi replied, deciding not to question his sexual preferences.

"Come on, he never gets this spruced up for any other ceremonies we've been to. He's never worn something so fancy, and the face powder? It's all for Sakura-chan," Kisame voiced.

Itachi knew the shark-man was correct, but he made no effort to say so.

Ten minutes later, the door finally slid open and Deidara stepped in, his long hair down to its full length, complimenting red and white robes. He had a big grin on his face. "May I present the lady of the house of Akatsuki – Sakura Haruno!"

Itachi expected her to be beautiful...but he didn't know what the caliber was. Not until she stepped through the doorframe.

She wore a light purple kimono that went down to her knees. It was splattered with thick lines of minute red and black butterflies, with wavy silver lines sewn randomly in the fabric, and large, open golden sunflowers circling the kimono. Her shoes were a simple purple. Her roseate hair, which had grown out, was tied up in all manners of beaded braids, with jagged bangs covering her large forehead. Dangling from her ears were tiny silver butterflies, and a silver choker dotted with amethysts was fastened around her neck, while silver bangles were looped around her ankles. Her nails were painted purple, and her lips were lightly painted with a soft red lipstick. Her eyes were accented with a purple eyeshadow, and body glitter was spread across her gorgeous face.

The room was silent, and Sakura felt a little nervous with so many men staring at her like she was a piece of meat. She comforted herself with the fact that she felt safe with all of them. Her eyes were trained on Itachi. He looked amazing, and he seemed to loose wearing those robes compared to his cold Akatsuki cloak.

"You look _amazing,_" Tobi stressed, his eyes trained on the kunoichi.

She smiled shyly. "Thank you, Tobi." She looked at Itachi. "You look...different."

Itachi nodded, not sure how to regard such a statement.

"Let's not all stand here and drool, we have places to be," Kakashi remarked.

"I almost forgot," Tobi joked with another glance at Sakura.

She looked away. She had never been so shy before. Perhaps it was because she had a different audience to present herself to.

The departing ones stepped into the warm air of the outdoors. The village could be heard a ways away, and Sakura felt eager. "Let's get going!" she commanded cheerfully.

"We must spread ourselves out. Kisame and Akimu are going ahead, while Tobi and Kakashi linger behind. We must be as surreptitious as possible; ANBU are known to attend such ceremonies as guards, and we can't forget the ninja who use this village as a checkpoint." Itachi stood close to Sakura. Deidara pouted, but didn't make a big deal.

_Like Yumiko, Usuchi and Seiji. _Sakura thought of the teenage ninja she frequently watched on her many trips to the village. They were aspiring shinobi who had problems other than mission status; like Team 7 had once been. She often found herself lost in the sea of nostalgia when watching those three.

**XxXxXx**

The village was thriving on the sound of music and laughter. A band was playing local popular tunes while friends and couples danced together in a square. Game, food, and merchandise booths were scattered around the village, providing entertainment and memories to the people at the celebration.

Itachi nodded stiffly to two ANBU situated at the entrance of the village; they gazed at the three for a while before letting them enter.

"What were they checking for?" Sakura asked.

"Security has tightened because of the news of the rogue ninja Sakura Haruno," Deidara voiced. "You'll probably hear people talking about her. Don't get too distressed."

Sakura noticed Akimu and Kisame near a koi pond. She giggled when she saw Kisame gazing fondly at the brightly-colored fish. "I would hardly," she said to Deidara.

Deidara grinned. "Then, with all the important stuff pushed aside," he said, grabbing her arm, "let's go have some fun!"

Sakura laughed. "Where would you like to go first?"

Itachi stepped through Sakura and Deidara, breaking apart their grip. "Don't be too lax with her." _Give her to me._

Deidara stuck out his tongue. "I'm not stupid. Alright, how about we play that catching game over there?"

Itachi's heart sank as Sakura willingly walked away with the blond. "Just as long as your hands don't eat the baseballs!" he heard her say.

He knew he wasn't bound to Sakura, but he had the excuse of being her bodyguard. Yet, Akimu and Kisame did not appear to be paying the slightest attention to her, and the newly arrived Tobi and Kakashi weren't going to be any help either – at least, Tobi wasn't. He went off to the dance square as soon as possible. Kakashi approached the Uchiha.

"Where're Seres and Daisuke?" he asked.

"Over at the batting cages. You don't have to worry about them; Sakura's having a lot of fun," Itachi said with the air of someone who had just been horse-trodden by their best friend.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "I didn't ask if she was having fun. Don't get emotional on me. Let it all out somewhere else."

"I'll try." Itachi's eyes never met the ANBU's.

Kakashi smiled and shook his head. "Don't be afraid; go to her when she needs you most. She's stuck in some fantasy that she'll be with Sasuke, but I believe only you can pull her out of there before she drowns."

"Why is it my responsibility, her feelings?" _Why can't I find myself able to comfort her?_

"Because it's deep inside of you. You want to make her happy."

"What?" Itachi asked, dumbfounded, but Kakashi had already left to talk to a few passerby.

The dark-haired man looked in the direction of the batting cages. His Sharingan inactivated, his raven eyes couldn't see well. Nonetheless, he had seen Sakura in all her glamour and knew she was going to have fun. He on the other hand, disliked crowds. Laughter was not his enemy; it just never came to him.

He set off for the cages and saw two figures that must have been Deidara and Sakura. Sakura was attempting to hit a baseball, laughing. The blond was catching the balls with ease and teasing her on her bad swing. Itachi narrowed his eyes and he turned around, deciding to leave them alone and go find some good dumplings.

Sakura heard the band playing good music from afar. "Hey, I know that song."

"Heads up Seres-chan!" Deidara warned, and Sakura swung her bat, sending a ball up to the ceiling.

Deidara smacked the machine off. "You suck! I can play ten times better than you."

"Then why don't you do it?" Sakura challenged, handing him the bat.

"I don't want to coop you up in here. Go get something to eat; I'll keep watch from here." Deidara swung his head around, looking for enemies.

The woman sighed. "I don't want you guys to have a boring night because of me."

"Eh, shut up and go have fun kid," Deidara demanded, pointing at the dance square down the road.

Sakura saluted. "Yes sir!"

**XxXxXx**

Itachi took a sip of winter sake, his salted dumplings steamy on the china. He bit one off the toothpick and stared at the dance floor. He found himself bored without anyone to talk to.

"Isei's all alone," said Sakura's voice, and her body appeared behind him, looking over his shoulder. "Eating dumplings and drinking alone. How sad."

Itachi's spirits suddenly lifted. "You quiet." He offered her some dumplings.

She took one. "What, no sake?"

"We can't risk you drunk."

She laughed. "You're so stupid sometimes! I can't get drunk but my bodyguards can?" she wondered out loud. "How...odd. And manly."

Itachi handed her his sake cup without another word. She drank the rest, missing the delicious taste of the famous wine. She was hardly a drunk, but a bottle could always have been found in her refrigerator at home.

"So, why is Isei being an introvert and avoiding his friends?" Sakura inquired.

"...I don't want to bother them," Itachi replied gruffly.

"Bother them? If everyone who wanted to talk to someone thought they were bothering them then no one would be talking. Besides, I kinda wanted to see you play some baseball."

"I can't play baseball."

"Fine, then...what booths here can you play at?"

"...Kendama. I'm skilled at kendama." Itachi remembered he would use the toy to play and train as a child.

"Then let's go play some? I suck at it myself..." Sakura was gazing fondly at the dance square.

"Seres."

Her attention returned to Itachi. "Hmm?"

"..." Itachi didn't know how to say it properly, so he just settled for brusque and came out with it. "Dance with me."

Sakura stared at him. _The Itachi Uchiha, dance?_

**HE ASKED YOU DO DANCE! CHA!**

_Should I accept?_

**CHA! HELL YEAH! **

"I...I'd love to," Sakura said, very shocked to hear those words come out of the normally stiff man's mouth.

He took her hand and led her to the square. Careful not to knock into anybody dancing around them, they found a spot on the right side of the square.

"How do you dance?" was Itachi's first question.

"I...ah...sometimes like a slut, sometimes like a lady." Sakura laughed, thinking of the days where she and Ino would spend the night at clubs partying down after successful missions.

"It looks like they're playing a 'slut' song," Itachi remarked.

Sakura giggled. She never heard him say such words before. She winked at him and began to dance, and when she danced Itachi unexpectedly found himself having an urge he hadn't had since his teenage hormonal days. And by the lords, he hoped it went away soon. But with the beautiful pink woman dancing the way she was, fancy kimono or not, he couldn't help being turned on.

He thought that actually dancing himself would help relieve his unholy feelings. And so, he danced, danced like a 'slut'. Sakura had to stop and watch him. Her mouth fell open in awe. The man danced so _well._ His steps and body motions were perfectly in time, and despite not having curves, he could pull off feminine moves so gracefully it was almost inhuman. He would spin and use his arms and go low to the ground and step and do all kinds of techniques that Sakura wondered if his spine was elastic.

Pretty soon a group had formed around them, and she felt stupid standing there so she attempted to match his moves the best way possible. Then, he did the strangest thing. He pulled her close to him and he began to dance seductively, so that Sakura flushed and her heart began to pound in her chest. The people around them cheered, and she began to dance the same way. The heat emanating from their bodies was so intense. It was like they were having sex with clothes on. That's the only way Sakura could describe it.

When the song ended, the person leading the band gave them a shout-out ("let's give a hand to those sexy dancers! Making us all hot up over here!") and Kakashi and Deidara, who were watching, were fixated on them in a stupor of amazement and embarrassment.

The band leader warned everyone that a slow song for the sweethearts was coming up. Itachi looked at her, and she smiled and nodded. She didn't mind dancing him. In fact, she _loved _it.

They began to dance to the slow song.

_Transparency dyes the night sky, and  
I walk alone on the road that always leads home.  
Singing to myself, I want to send these kinds of feelings  
to you in your sleep, oh, um..._

Itachi suddenly changed—he was now a perfect gentleman, leading her along. His hand was around her waist, and holding her other hand, while she had her hand on his chest as they danced.

_I'm tangled up in something; I'm getting a little sick of myself—tangled up in the feelings to convey to those days that have been left behind..._

Sakura smiled happily. "This has been a great night."

Itachi's eyes, which had already been gazing into her jade ones, filled with happiness, though his mouth remained straight. "Yes."

"...I hope that we can have a night like this again. I really want to be around...I want everyone to be around to do this next year." Sakura's heart began to tie itself into knots. She was suddenly reminded of why she was an exile from Konoha. Her eyes began to fill with tears.

"Sakura?" he dared to use her real name, in a soft whisper.

_The heart I've forgotten somewhere is starting to hurt a little.  
I keep searching for you in a night lit by the stars that are bound to that time.  
I place my feelings on the receding clouds on the road home, where I pause to stand._

"I hate this," she spoke quietly, her voice breaking. "I don't want to destroy the world. I don't want...to cause all the people around us to suffer, or die, or lose. I just want them to be around next year."

"Don't think about that," Itachi suggested, feeling sad...because she was sad.

"How can I not? How can I feel this way when I can kill everyone?" Sakura shook her head fervently. "I hate this."

_You are already a part of my continuing dreams;  
I know that (those feelings) can't possibly reach you from here._

Itachi wanted to comfort her. He wanted to make her smile, and dry her tears, and spend every day like this; her close to him, safe in his arms. But never worrying like this. He didn't know why he wanted it this way, and he didn't question it.

So, he did the only thing he could think of.

His let go of her hand and her waist, and wrapped his arms around her.

Sakura paused in mid-hiccup, her face going into his kimono. It smelled of the fresh night air and grass. Her tears caught his fabric, transferring onto the cloth and away from her makeup. She wasn't sure why, but she didn't mind this. She liked it, in face. To be so close to the Uchiha.

_Someone asks questions; I'm starting to want this to make more sense.  
You cast those too-brilliant days into a fading shadow._

"Don't be like this." Itachi said to her, rocking her back and forth. "Today is a night where we celebrate the future winter, and also the ending of warmth, but that does not mean warm days aren't ahead. Beyond the snow and ice are the sun and the flowers. You can reach that destination, by just being patient, and putting your trust in the earth that it will keep its promise to rotate the seasons. Just like I will see you through your troubles and your battles, and I will keep my promise to find a way for you to not have to suffer anymore."

He let go of her, but stayed close. "Think of what lies beyond the troubles of the future. And think of now. Don't let time pass you by, or you'll find yourself longing for days gone past."

_I'm tangled up in something; I'm getting a little sick of myself – tangled up in the feelings to convey to those days that have been left behind..._

"Itachi...why are you such a good person?" Sakura asked, her lip trembling. "Why must you be so troubled, and yet so amazing?"

His reply was something Sakura would have never had thought of, especially not from him. It took her off guard, and he had expected it.

He smiled.

It was a kind, gentle, happy smile, which broke the sadness that had once placed an eternity hold on his face. His mask had shattered, and he could finally shed his guise and place his heart in her hands.

Sakura didn't know what to say. "I...Itachi..."

_The heart I've forgotten somewhere is starting to hurt a little.  
I keep searching for you in a night lit by the stars that are bound to that time._

"I will find your old self," Itachi promised. "And I will forever stay there with you, until you can find your summer beyond the harsh winter."

Sakura's eyes fell to the ground. "I..." she looked back up at him. "Will you promise me that?"

Itachi's smile never left his perfect face. "...Until your story's end."

**XxXxXx**

You know, listening to a myriad of sad, slow, romantic songs really helped me fix the mood for this chapter. How did you all like it? It took a bit longer to complete than usual due to my fervor concerning my newest Naruto fanfiction, _Show Me a Hero_. I recommend that to all who like adventure, angst, and multiple pairings.

Itachi's a really romantic guy, huh? I was having speculations about the dance scene, I didn't know what to do with it really...but I turned on my music and the next thing I know he's busting his moves and the next he's hugging our favorite kunoichi!

For those who might recognize the lyrics to _Anti-Nostalgic, _it's performed by Kotani Kinya who sang for the anime version of _Gravitation._

Well, see you next chapter. I'm really happy with how this turned out.


	10. Into Warm Arms

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.  
****Slight AU warning.  
****Don't forget to review when you're finished reading!**

**XXX**

**Unknown Deceit**

**Bolded lines** are Inner Sakura. _Italicized lines _are regular thoughts from anybody. **_Bolded italicized _**lines are flashbacks or dreams. Warning, this chapter's got a small part that's a little graphic.

**Chapter 10 – Into Warm Arms**

_**He let go of her hand and her waist, and wrapped his arms around her.**_

_**Sakura paused in mid-hiccup, her face going into his kimono. It smelled of the fresh night air and grass. Her tears caught his fabric, transferring onto the cloth and away from her makeup. She wasn't sure why, but she didn't mind this. She liked it, in face. To be so close to the Uchiha.**_

_I want to experience that again...over and over..._

_**His reply was something Sakura would have never had thought of, especially not from him. It took her off guard.**_

_**He smiled.**_

_**It was a kind, gentle, happy smile, which broke the sadness that had once placed an eternity hold on his face.**_

_I could remember that forever..._

"_**I will find your old self," Itachi promised. "And I will forever stay there with you, until you can find your summer beyond the harsh winter."**_

_**Sakura's eyes fell to the ground. "I..." she looked back up at him. "Will you promise me that?"**_

_**Itachi's smile never left his perfect face. "...Until your story's end."**_

_I don't want my story to end._

**XxXxXx**

Sakura's eyes fluttered open. Her stare was groggy and unfocused, but her senses alerted her that she was in grave danger.

Akimu was sitting on top of her, holding a kunai high up in the air. Surprised by her awakening, he stopped with a horrified look on his face. Sakura blinked and screamed, shooting out of the way.

"What are you doing?!" she screamed.

"Please, go back to sleep!" Akimu implored, throwing the kunai at her. She ducked her head and grabbed it when it sunk into the wall, tossing it back at him two-fold.

_This can't be happening, _she thought as Akimu nabbed it between two fingers. _Not Akimu. He's too nice!_

"What do you want from me?" Sakura asked, automatically reaching for her weapons pouch tied around her leg...problem was she was wearing a nightgown, and completely unprepared for what was happening.

"I'm sorry. I was going to do this while you slept, but I can't turn back now," Akimu pledged. "You must die, Sakura Haruno!"

"Why are you doing this?" she yelled. "Is it because of the seal? You never worried about it before!" she screamed and dodged a flurry of senbon.

"I've been patient about it enough, but after what Kisame said the night before I cannot keep myself docile! You are a wonderful woman, but you must die!" Akimu sounded truly miserable, advancing on her.

Sakura jumped on her bed and grabbed a vase, throwing it at him. There was a loud crash, and Akimu punched through it just as the door to her room flew open.

In a split second, Itachi had appeared, taken a sword, and plunged it straight through Akimu's back without any second thoughts. Sakura collapsed on her bed, shaking and sweating, watching Akimu crumple and his blood covering Itachi's hands and night clothing. In the moonlight that shone through her window, he truly looked like the murderer everyone claimed he was.

Deidara, Sasori and Kisame came in behind Itachi, Deidara looking at Akimu solemnly. "You just had to betray us," he spoke softly.

Akimu was choking on the floor. Sakura couldn't see him, but it didn't matter. His words were what hit her hardest.

"She...you're giving her false hope you bastards! S-She thinks she's going to _live? _The only w-way to destroy the seal is to kill the owner before the seal transfers! A-And you...you make her think that there's another way..." Akimu stopped talking, signaling that he was dead.

Sakura pulled her knees close to her and she rested her chin on them, not speaking. Last time was thrown from her mind as Akimu's words embedded themselves into her brain. False hope...killing the seal...killing _her._ And Itachi had promised, he had fucking _promised _her that he would end her pain. Or was that just another way of saying he'd kill her?

Itachi handed the sword to Sasori, who nodded and left holding the blade. He kicked Akimu out of the way, and he hit the wall and made a large bloodstain, making Sakura wince. He was supposed to be a gentle man. Sure, he was strong, but...never had she seen such anger in his eyes. It was inhuman, thirsting for blood.

"Sakura," he said in a gentle voice that didn't match his eyes, approaching the bed.

"DON'T COME NEAR ME!" Sakura screamed, grabbing a kunai from the wall behind her.

He paused, and Deidara gasped at her outburst. "Sakura, are you alright yeah?"

"NO, I'M NOT FUCKING ALRIGHT YEAH!" She was utterly terrified.

Itachi put a hand to silence Deidara, who had opened his mouth. "Sakura," he reiterated softly.

"Stop saying my name like that," she demanded, "stop SAYING IT!"

He drew closer, and she threw the kunai as a warning. It whizzed past his ear and nearly hit Kisame, who moved his head. "I said don't come near me, you monster!"

He hesitated. "...Monster?"

"You just killed someone in my bedroom! You're fucking bloody and your eyes..." she shuddered.

"I will not let anyone hurt you," he explained.

"You just kicked him out of the way! He was your friend, and you kicked him like he was trash!" Akimu had tried to take her life because he was afraid of the destruction of the world. That's a very good reason to try and kill someone, she thought. Even though it hurt her. What she was angry about the most was how they had all lied, flat-out lied to her.

"You too...all of you," she hissed. "You all lied. First Konoha, and now you. There's no one I can turn to, is there? You said you'd find a way to heal me!"

"We've been trying!" Deidara said in a desperate voice. "We haven't found anything, but we didn't want to worry you, yeah!"

"You were going to have to kill me eventually if you didn't succeed, and that you kept from me! Now I know I'm gonna have to die, and none of you had the decency to tell me. I got close to all of you, _especially _you," she glanced at Itachi, "and you gave me hope. And then you found it fit to take it all away along with my trust and compassion for any of you bastards."

"Don't say that," Kisame said. "You don't hate us."

"I WISH I DID!" Sakura cried. "I REALLY WISH I DID!"

"Look, we aren't going to stop searching for a way," Deidara said, hoping this would cheer her up. "We won't give up on you."

Sakura jumped off the bed, still shaking. "Today is a night where we celebrate the future winter, and also the ending of warmth, but that does not mean warm days aren't ahead. Beyond the snow and ice are the sun and the flowers. You can reach that destination, by just being patient, and putting your trust in the earth that it will keep its promise to rotate the seasons. Just like I will see you through your troubles and your battles, and I will keep my promise to find a way for you to not have to suffer anymore."

Itachi's eyes narrowed. Sakura smirked angrily. "You remember that, from yesterday? There's no way to cure me. And you knew that and lied to me."

"...We do not know if there isn't a way. All we can do is keep searching," Itachi told her.

Sakura strode across the room and to the door. Itachi stepped in front of it, his eyes reverting back to their gentleness.

"...Get out of my way," she spat.

"Don't do this," he warned.

She flipped her pink hair out of her face and pushed him out of the way. She stepped into the hall, and in a rush of wind she was gone.

Deidara looked from the doorframe to the Uchiha. "Aren't you going after her, yeah?"

"...Don't worry. I know where she's going," he said.

Kisame stared at Akimu, depressed. "I should have never told him the lifespan remaining on the seal."

"What is it?" Deidara asked. "Don't worry; I won't go psycho killer."

Kisame smiled half-heartedly at his joke. "...less than two months."

"Are you kidding?! Cuz that's far from funny," Deidara sputtered.

Itachi heaved a sigh. "...Whatever you do, do not say anything to Sakura."

**XxXxXx**

She didn't now where she was going. She just ran and ran and ran, trying to get as far from the castle as possible. It wasn't until she stopped from fatigue that she noticed where her legs had subconsciously carried her.

She was situated in front of a small, dark home made from wood with two front windows and small shrubs lined up underneath them. The clearing was fairly large and settled in the deep part of the forest.

Sakura knew where she was. This was where she had considered going hundreds of times, but never gathered up the courage to pull through with her plan. Where she wanted to retreat after Tsunade ordered her assassination.

Slowly, she walked to the front door. Standing there, she didn't know if she should even be there. Finally, she made up her mind and rapped on the door, quietly.

A flash of red in the window, and Sakura's heart flopped over. Two years. It had been two years. She didn't know what to say, what to even do.

The door opened, and all of her worries about introduction left her.

"...Sakura?"

Her lip trembled, and she leapt forward and hugged him, crying. Surprised, and completely taken off guard, he placed his arms around her, comfortingly. "It's going to be alright, don't cry."

He led her into his home and sat her on the couch in the darkly furnished living room, and went to his cluttered kitchen. Two years. It had been two years. He poured a glass of peach nectar, hoping that she still had a fondness for the drink. What he couldn't understand was why he was being so casual. _Two goddamn years_.

He offered her the glass. She took it with a thank you and wiped her tears away, tilting it into her mouth and sipping the drink.

"How do you know where I live?" the dark-haired man asked, sitting across from her.

"I found out with some research. Don't worry; I didn't tell anyone. I've wanted to come for a while, but I couldn't bring myself to..." she felt a lump grow in her throat, "...come."

"...Did something happen with you and Itachi?" he asked.

"How did you know...oh, he's been keeping in contact with you, hasn't he?" the pinkette surmised, noticing a stack of letters on a cherrywood table.

"I know everything that he knows." With that, the man stood up, his long bangs framing his pale face, with almond-shaped black eyes and a small scar running down the right side of his lip. The man, Sasuke Uchiha, reached over and picked up the letter with the most recent date printed on it in neat penmanship.

He read it over, and sighed, crumpling it up and throwing it in the wastebasket. "Did you find out about your odds?"

"My odds, that's what it's called?" Sakura asked, looking livid. "For the most part. Why would he be so kind to me?! It doesn't make sense. I'd think he'd want the seal gone as quick as possible!"

"He has his reasons," Sasuke replied. He moved in front of the wall lamp. The shaded light illuminated his face, and his former teammate noticed that his once-sharp, cold eyes were soft and tired looking. He was much skinnier, and his muscles had degenerated significantly.

_Sasuke's really been affected by all this. He doesn't look as appealing as he used to, not as intimidating._

"I wish I knew them." Sakura crossed her arms and sunk lower into the couch, feeling listless.

"I can assure you he won't go back on his word."

"How do you know? How come you are all so sure I'm going to survive? That no one will have to kill me eventually?" Sakura felt her eyes burn.

"I don't. But he's my brother, just in case you forgot. And I know he doesn't throw away things precious to him." His eyes scrutinized her in nothing but a red nightgown hardly suitable for winter. He stood up and gathered up a blanket, draping it over her.

"Thank you," she whispered, hiccupping.

"Don't thank me. I'm a son of a bitch for leaving you and Naruto to chase after power I didn't need. All I can do is beg for amnesty by helping my brother and his friends."

"You're trying to find a way to destroy it?" she asked.

"I'd prefer to call it a cure." He brushed pink strands out of her beautiful face. "I don't want to lose you, not when I still need to be forgiven."

"Sasuke..." Sakura began, but another knock on the door interrupted her.

"I'm quite popular today," the Uchiha said with a chuckle. "Stay where you are."

She nodded. Sasuke looked through the window, his Sharingan activated, and relaxed. He opened the door. "You know, you made her cry," he responded to the silence.

She knew who was at the door. She threw the blanket over her head. Maybe he wouldn't notice her.

Sasuke stuck his head back in and paused for a moment, sensing her underneath the blanket. He smirked, amused. "Come out here and see him."

"I don't want to!" she protested. _God damnit, I sound like a child._

**Well, you ARE being immature!**

She heard Itachi enter, and let the blanket slide down her face so her emerald orbs were visible, glaring at him. He was wearing his Akatsuki cloak, looking wind-blown. "Let's go."

"Go to hell."

Sasuke ducked into the kitchen while they settled their differences. He didn't have the right to be a part of any of it.

"Sakura," he said sharply, "Please."

His tone was frantic and a bit pleading. The kunoichi wouldn't have expected it from the cool customer he usually was.

"We don't want you to come back just because of the seal. We're worried, and you can't do this to us. Damnit, I've tried so hard to keep you safe, and you have no right to throw away everything we give you." He was embittered.

Sakura didn't blame him. "...I don't want to die." Her eyes filled with tears. "I-I don't get it! I'm usually strong-willed, but I've been having so many breakdowns lately. I don't think I can take this..."

"Come back. We'll find a cure together."

She nodded silently and wiped away her tears. She stood up, the blanket falling to the ground. He noticed her lack of decent clothing and moved behind her. She heard a rustle, and her body warmed when a cloak was placed around her. It was Itachi's robe.

"Itachi..." she spoke quietly.

"Brother, can I speak to you for a minute?" Sasuke reappeared and was standing parallel to them.

Itachi nodded curtly. "Go wait outside," he addressed to Sakura.

"Don't take too long."

Sasuke watched her step towards the door. When he was certain it was closed, his eyes fell upon Itachi's matching ones. "...You're keeping your promise."

"You didn't think I would?"

"It's unexpected how far you went. But now I can really see. I fucked up like you won't believe it," Sasuke laughed dryly.

"I don't understand." Itachi wasn't lying.

"Oh, you will in time. I know that for a fact." His face darkened. "How much time do we have?"

"Two months." The older Uchiha didn't sound happy.

"Are you kidding me? Shit. Well, I guess I can't say 'no pressure'." The younger Uchiha scrutinized his brother. "...I'll do everything I can. I guess we'll just have to speed things up a bit."

"I shall give you a report on our progress as well." Itachi turned towards the door.

"Hey, brother?"

He paused, his hand on the knob.

"...Take care of her."

Itachi didn't reply. He opened the door and stepped out into the cold winter night. Sakura was plodding around, watching trees. She perked up when she noticed him. He walked to her and they left for the castle. Sakura looked back at Sasuke's house. He was nowhere to be seen.

A loud yawn escaped her body. She hadn't realized how tired she was. She leaned her pink-haired head against Itachi's shoulder, which she barely reached.

"Itachi..." she drawled sleepily.

"Yes?" He usually didn't respond when called, preferring to wait for a question or statement. Actually, it felt bizarre to say anything at all.

"Am I...going to die?"

His chest tightened unpleasantly. He didn't want to lie. So, he decided not to. "No. I won't let you die." Usually, he'd avoid the question with some half-baked answer, but he was certain this time.

He gasped lightly and turned, catching Sakura right before she hit the cold ground. Sweeping her up bridal-style, he noticed the tiredness etched into her soft features.

_She has gone through too much in her life. Just like us, she will always be vigilant asleep or awake, awarding her with unrest._

A light snow had begun to fall. Itachi hurried along, wanting to get inside as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, before he could begin a sprint, five chakra sources burst from the trees.

They were on him in a second. Sakura's eyes fluttered open. She hadn't really fallen into a deep enough sleep, and the rush of five shinobi was enough to rouse her. She shrieked as Itachi—arm around her stomach—flew her out of the mess and onto steady ground.

He pivoted, kunai clashing. _There's no time for this!_

"ANBU!" Sakura exclaimed. _Damnit, I have no weapons!_

A female with a tanuki mask leaped at her. Sakura acted quick, sending a Burning Hearts Jutsu at her and sliding underneath the flames towards Itachi, who was spinning in a full-circle defending from thrown senbon. When he halted, they were stuck to some sort of body shield. He punched the shield, which exploded and sent the senbon back, this time with shards of the shield to worry about.

His eyes bled into their deep red and he easily responded to a taijutsu attack from a male donkey-mask with the same attack with ten times the power. He rushed forward in front of Sakura, taking a shuriken and throwing it to distract a woman before running forward and plunging a kunai into her abdomen.

"I do not kill Konoha ninja unless am I truly forced too. None of you are powerful enough to even scratch me, so I am not forced to kill you! Leave!" he demanded.

"You've murdered plenty of them before—or did you forget about your clan?" one yelled.

He moved his head to duck a shuriken. Sakura was glaring at him. "Fuck you! What do you know?" she spat.

"You're one to talk, traitor! You've dishonored Hatake Kakashi's good name as well as Naruto Uzumaki's!"

"Hah, oh really?" If only they knew the truth about Kakashi. Naruto she felt guilty for.

She sauntered forward, only to have a pain explode from her back. A shrill scream came up through her throat and she fell to her knees. Her eyes squeezed shut from the pain; she forced them open so she could continue fighting.

Sakura was kneeling in a wasteland. The trees around her were burned down, nothing but stumps covering the ashen land. The grass nestles under her legs were blackened and dead, and as she stood up they made crispy noises as they fell apart.

The disgusting smell of burning blood was all around her, enough to make her gag. Bewildered, her eyes fell upon a body lying in the center of the crusted blood. She neared it, and let out a terrified scream.

It was Itachi, or what was left of him. All of his skin was burnt black, a Sharingan eyeball hanging out of a blown-up socket. A small piece of red-clouded cloth was melted onto his arm, which was nothing but a bone. His skull was crushed in half, his brain leaking out the sides.

She couldn't bring herself to stop screaming. No tears fell out of the pure disgust that she felt, and she threw up more than once. Finally, her mind gave her respite from the gruesome scene and she fainted.

**XxXxXx**

It was really warm. Sakura sat up, breathing in gasps of fear. A small lamp was dimly lit on the bedside table, and Itachi was sitting on a chair next to her. She was in his bed.

"You're awake," he noticed. "Deidara and Sasori beat back the ANBU while I got you back safely. They're alright, but we need to be more..."

He paused when Sakura threw her arms around him, sobbing. "I h-had a nightmare! No, a vision! You were dead and burnt and everything was blown up and you...y-you were..."

He hugged her back. "Whatever happened to me will not happen. I swear it."

"That's not the only time I've had those dreams! I had a dream about the Akatsuki on the battlefield. And on the battlefield I saw a vision of Konoha burning to the ground! And this was before I received the seal," she choked out.

Itachi wiped her eyes dry, gathering stray tears on a pale finger. "We don't know why that happened. Another thing on our minds is your visions."

Sakura released him and stared into his tired eyes. "You don't have a scratch on you."

"I don't hurt easily. Remember, I'm one of the most feared ninja in the world. I may not have the actual power to slay my clan, but I'm damn near close."

"I shouldn't even worry about you. I know you're strong. But, please don't get into any more fights," she begged. Then, she laughed. "Why am I even bothering? I sound like a damsel in distress."

"You _are_ one," he pointed out.

"I'm a strong kunoichi! It's not like I can't take care of myself," she grumbled.

"Not against five ANBU," he said truthfully.

"How's that gonna make me feel better?" she complained.

He smiled. "I should be the one telling _you _not to get into any fights."

She pushed him, giggling. "You're no fun. I liked you better on the dance floor."

"What are you talking about? I don't dance."

"Oooh, you!"

**XxXxXx**

"You're sure it was her?" A woman asked the ANBU officer beyond her desk.

"Come on; how many pink-haired ninja are there?" he replied.

"Alright, thank you for the details." She held a wordy report in her hands. "You're dismissed. Await further orders until then."

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

Tsunade read the report, her conscience screaming at her. _'Traveling with missing-nin class S Itachi Uchiha and was backed up by class S missing-nin Sasori and Deidara, last names unknown.'_

"Fucking great," she said. "I had partially hoped we'd never hear from them again. That maybe, just maybe something happened and she wasn't still carrying that bitch."

'_Fainted at scene, screaming Itachi Uchiha's name several times. He fled with her while Sasori and Deidara provided a distraction. Major injuries at the hand of Sasori, Deidara refused to fight properly. Retreat was necessary from the extremities of injury from Sasori's violence.'_

"Of course Sasori would be pissed. His life's been ruined because of this, more so than a lot of Akatsuki." Tsunade threw down the report. "Damnit Sakura; why did you have to be found out?"

The next couple days were not fun for Tsunade. Rumors had somehow been born, and soon the whole town was chattering about Akatsuki and Sakura.

She called a meeting with Kakashi, a honcho of ANBU. He wore heavy winter apparel. "Tsunade, your boobs are going to freeze off if you don't cover them," he greeted her.

Her eyes narrowed. "This is serious business. I know you've been informed about the Akatsuki slash Sakura sighting."

He chuckled. "Yup, that's the talk of the town."

"I know it's colder than a bitch in a freezer out there, but we have to send search teams looking for them. They were traveling northeast through the forest, so we can assume that their hideout is located in that area. I want you to lead a search team beyond the battlefield grounds."

Kakashi nodded. "Should we prepare for a full-day?"

"Possibly. If you can't find anything then return and I'll have preparations for a longer exhibition." Tsunade laved her fingers together. "I have full trust in your abilities. Surely you won't let the fact that this is your former student cloud your judgment."

Kakashi smirked. "I hope you think the same way."

"...You're one of the only people who know my true colors. Even I'm ashamed of myself," she admitted.

"There are always parts of us we wish we didn't have," the silver-haired man replied. "I'll have those teams ready."

He left, stuffing his hands in his pockets. _I have to figure out how I can mislead my team without looking suspicious. I pray to god the barrier has been recharged._

Tsunade took a large swig of sake. Life sucked a lot more than it should. The door to her office banged open and Naruto sauntered in. "Tsunade-granny!" he exclaimed, sounding hyper.

She groaned. "What?"

"I heard Sakura's been spotted," he said in a much more serious tone.

She stared at the boy almost out of his teens. "Yeah."

"Yeah? That's all you can say? When can I see her? Where is she? I want to see her!"

"Stop talking for a minute!" Tsunade commanded. "We're sending a search team to look for her, and you're not a part of ANBU. Therefore you have no jurisdiction and no allowance to join the search team."

"Are you kidding me?" Naruto asked, anger rising. "She's my old teammate!"

"Yeah, and she's my old student!" the Hokage snapped. "But you must be forgetting that she tried to kill me, and a sector of ANBU. I'm not about to let you go after her, she might kill you."

Naruto quieted. "She wouldn't kill me."

"She's hanging around with the murderer of the Uchiha clan, you idiot. I don't think friendship matters to her. Now, thank you for interrupting me. Leave."

"But—"

"I said leave!"

Naruto glared. "Fine. Thanks for nothing." He stepped outside her office and slammed the door shut. He descended the Hokage Monument and watched the sky turn peach-colored as the sun set. Walking past Ichiraku Ramen, he heard someone call his name. His blue sandals crunched over little pebbles as he stopped.

Ino Yamanaka was catching up to him quickly, blond hair curled and long over her shoulders. "Thanks for waiting," she said. "You just come from the Hokage's office?"

"How'd you guess," Naruto said, sounding put-out.

"I was just there yesterday. She turned me down too. I know you'd want to go look for Sakura." She flipped her bangs out of her eyes.

"Well I can't, because Tsunade's being a bitch," the kyuubi-holder grumbled.

"Who cares what she says?" Ino asked, feeling rebellious.

"You want to go look for Sakura? But our missions. What if we're assigned to something?" Naruto didn't know why he wasn't jumping at the chance to leave. Usually he was the insurgent.

"Then we'll get our asses chewed later. But you know as well as I do there's something wrong with this picture. Now, Sasuke—I don't know much about him—but he showed signs of detaching long before he actually did. But Sakura, she was perfectly fine I know that. She had no qualms with the Fifth or anybody, I'm sure." Ino shook her head. "Something's up. I want to know what it is."

Naruto smirked. "You want me to help you? I heard Sakura was found up north."

"There's a village up there that ninja often use as a checkpoint. We could start there," Ino stated.

"Sounds good to me. When should we leave?" Naruto asked.

"Tomorrow morning, when no one's awake," Ino suggested.

He thought about it. "A lot of people wake up really early here. I'd say really late at night. We'll have to get around guards, but they shouldn't be that hard. Let's go home and pack, and then meet up at Kikyo Castle at a quarter past midnight."

She nodded. "Will do."

**XxXxXx**

Kisame watched Sakura pick snow flowers dotted around the icy fields. His eyes bore into the seal.

_Two months...we'd better hurry our asses up._

**XxXxXx**

Merry Christmas to everyone! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and want more. Because, I'm telling you there will be much more!

Has anyone ever played Silent Hill 3? It's one of the scariest games I've ever played. Absolutely amazing game too. Oh, a new chapter of _Show Me a Hero _should be up soon.

Well, finally we hear from Konoha again after four chapters. And just when you thought everyone was here, I go and haul in Sasuke. For those who love him, you'll be seeing more of him, and for those who don't, too bad. Don't worry; he wont' be making any moves on Sakura.

Merry Christmas again!


	11. Pushy Confessions

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.  
****Slight AU warning.  
****Don't forget to review when you're finished reading!**

**XXX**

**Unknown Deceit**

**Bolded lines** are Inner Sakura. _Italicized lines _are regular thoughts from anybody. **_Bolded italicized _**lines are flashbacks or dreams.

**Chapter 11 – Pushy Confessions**

Deidara eyed Sakura with a look of suspicion that morning. She was gaiting around the kitchen and the parlor with an uncomfortably happy air. She would plop extra helpings of rice pudding onto Tobi's plate and egg Zetsu on to pick flowers with her outside, something he had a hard time declining. After the last fiasco, the blond had expected her to be slouching in Itachi's room, where she had been placed while a thorough cleaning of her room went underway to completely rid it of blood and stain. He was sure she wasn't about to sleep in that room soon, even after it was cleaned.

He didn't want to say anything. Itachi wasn't in very high spirits except when he would appear happy to appease Sakura. He could easily guess why; the tension of not mentioning the continent only had two months to live was not a good topic to bring up around the table, not with their precious little flower present at least.

Kakashi was also paying close attention to her, though he was definitely more attuned to her emotions than he was. He set down his chopsticks when she skipped back into the kitchen. "It's denial," he ascribed with a firm sense of right.

"She's pretending to be happy so we won't worry?" Deidara guessed.

"Sakura may have once sought attention from Sasuke, but she was never the type who showed off. I know she was probably hurt from all the fame her comrades received and the lack of she got, but with her infamy now I'm going to speculate she doesn't want us worrying about her feelings. Remember she's become a bit unstable with the weight of so many burdens upon her, and adding death to that factor couldn't be helpful." Kakashi knew his ex-student well. He may not have favored her over Sasuke in days past, but he still paid attention.

Sakura nudged the door to the kitchen open, holding a tray of chocolate-drizzled cookies. Deidara's eyebrows rose. She never baked confections.

"I made cookies!" she announced in a voice that was not unlike an elementary school teacher.

_Eh, why should I worry? _Deidara wondered, grinning. "I love cookies, yeah!"

Sasori stood up and left the room without a word as Sakura set down the tray on the table. She eyed him curiously. "What's wrong with him?"

"Cookies were his favorite food back when he could eat them," Tobi replied.

"Oh," she acknowledged quietly. She sat down and took a hot cookie off the plate, biting into it. "Dig in!"

Deidara and Tobi took a cookie. Zetsu politely refused—he couldn't eat cookies. Itachi didn't take one.

"Have a cookie," Sakura said in a slightly commanding, sweet voice.

"...I hate sweets," Itachi said. "You know that."

"It's just got a drizzle of chocolate. You like bread-items!" she argued.

"I hate sweets," he repeated.

"Take a cookie," she said again.

"I hate sweets."

Deidara chewed on his treat, watching them. Sakura's voice grew ever more annoyed. The smile slipped off her face as his friend repeatedly refused to eat the cookie.

Suddenly, she snapped and kicked over the table. The tray went flying, cookies crushed underneath a broken table that cracked down the middle. Kakashi's rice bowl was cracked under the table, spilling sticky grains all over the floor.

They all stared at her. Her eyes were misty and she stared at Itachi like he was a cockroach. "I just wanted you to eat something! Alright? You know when I'm dead I'm not going to be cooking for you freaks anymore, so you might as well live it up!"

Itachi stared at the mess she created. He stood up, part of the table sliding off his leg, his Akatsuki robe stained with chocolate. When he didn't say anything and just gazed at her with ruby eyes, she felt like she wanted to beat his chest in.

"Aren't you going to say anything? Huh?" Sakura yelled. "You're _just _like Sasuke, you know that? Always so goddamn cryptic and stubborn. Fine, don't eat. See if I care!"

She exited the room to the main hall, slamming the door loudly behind her. Deidara winced.

"She's in a bad mood, yeah."

Itachi looked angry, but spoke in a calm tone. "...If she is informed of her limit, she will not be able to handle it. If anyone breathes a word to her I will personally behead them."

He looked down at the mess. When it came to Sakura, there were few things that annoyed him. However, he couldn't stand being compared to his younger brother by her. It was damn-near insulting.

"Aren't you going to go after her?" Zetsu asked the Uchiha.

"If she insists on talking with such foolishness then I find it very unappetizing to do so."

"Let's just clean up her mess, yeah?"

Sakura kicked the wall angrily. "Stupid fucking bastard shit..." she didn't know why she was in such a bad mood. She slumped down the wall, staring out at the open snowfield, the breeze tickling her face and freezing tears that were forming in her eyes.

**Stupid asshole Itachi; he could at least humor you! **Inner Sakura yelled.

_He doesn't have to do it. I just...couldn't handle it. I felt like he was betraying me in some way. Is it stupid? I'm stupid I think. Maybe it's because I'm dying._

**Dying? It's not like you're sick.**

_But I have to die if they can't find a cure. They won't find one. It's taken them too long anyway. Why should I have hope?_

**And why should you lose hope? As soon as they slap a bit of discouragement on you, you freak out. Just relax, you've got plenty of time. That seal's gotta have a lot of life on it.**

Sakura stood up and stared at the sky. It was a bright day, the skies white like the ground. White...emotionless. But still comforting, like something that she could take and make into whatever she wanted with a marker or something.

The door opened behind her and Kisame stopped, seeing her. She turned and looked at him. The silence was awkward but hardly tense. She smiled feebly, wiping her eyes.

_I can't let him see me like this. He'll make fun of me,_ she thought. "Kisame, hi."

"Hey," he said a bit too quick. "Um..."

"Where're you going?"

"I gotta get a new table. Um, you broke the other one. I wanted to move one from another room but Itachi insisted on a new one." Kisame's Samehada was strapped around his shoulder.

"Are you sure about that answer?" Sakura asked, eyeing the sword.

"Ah, really! I'm supposed to bring it wherever I go just in case. I'm a bit more vulnerable with my appearance," he explained.

"Have fun then."

Kisame could hear the lack of enthusiasm in her voice. Her will was weak and she seemed to look at the world more nonchalantly, as if the consequences didn't matter. He sincerely wished she could brighten up. Ever since her obviously fake happiness spread through the castle, the atmosphere changed back to pre-Sakura. Dull and stiff.

"Sakura," he said firmly, stopping his descent to the snow-covered ground. "When you look up to the sky, what do you see?"

The girl's eyebrow rose. "Um, white. No clouds, the sun against a white sky."

Kisame chuckled. "Instead of looking at nothingness, focus on the sun." He jumped down onto the snow and left her standing on the porch, walking down to the forests in the distance.

Sakura stared at him, and then smiled, shaking her head. "You sound just like _him._"

_Him._ _Sasuke_.

**No!**

_No! _Sakura's hair whipped in the cold winds. _Sasuke never encouraged me. Not on anything. No, Kisame sounded like..._

**Him.**

_Yes, Itachi..._

**XxXxXx**

Kisame left Sakura with those words, and he hoped she analyzed them the right way. He could see the clock ticking, the feel of the heat of the seal dying, crying out for more life. It knew that it was dying, and was ready to carry out what it had been built for. They had to prevent that.

_Problem is, the pressure's on. And we've got nothing._

If worst came to worst, he wouldn't be the one to do it. He couldn't kill Sakura. The very thought made him feel sick. To him, it was like picking up a delicate, poisonous flower and crushing it to pieces.

Truth was, he wasn't very optimistic. He couldn't be the one to make her feel safe other than showing off his physical fighting skills.

The shark man paused, hearing a crunching sound in the distance. It wasn't him. He turned his head. No one was following him from behind. He stared at his surroundings, feeling inordinate warmth from the trees.

His hand groped behind him and touched the Samehada's hilt, fingers wrapping around the cool steel. He pulled out a kunai with the other hand and threw it up at a tree. It collided with the branches and caused all the snow to spill off loudly.

"What the heck?!" a male voice spouted from the trees.

"That was probably a bird or something," a female reassured.

Kisame checked his chakra levels. _Teleporting back to the castle would disrupt the flow of the barrier and collapse it, and I don't know how the put up a barrier, and if they're coming in that direction then they'd spot us before we fully restored the barrier. Shit._

He unclasped Samehada and brought it down into the ground. _Might as well scare 'em away._

Two figures emerged from the trees, both sporting blond hair. Kisame recognized the man as Naruto Uzumaki. The female was a stranger, though she fit the description of Sakura's friend Ino Yamanaka.

They stopped their chatter immediately, both eyes fixated on Kisame. Naruto's eyes darted from his Samehada, to his cloak, and to his face.

"Well," he said quietly, handing inching towards his kunai pouch.

"You!" Ino exclaimed. She had never seen him before, but the cloak was a complete giveaway. "Akatsuki!" She said it like she had just sworn.

Kisame smirked. "Maybe."

Naruto couldn't take his eyes off him. This was a man Sakura had been spending her time with. Why would she suddenly change her affiliation? What was happening? Why to _these _kinds of people?

"Where's Sakura?" he demanded.

"Who?" Kisame's sharp teeth flashed in a smile and Ino shivered.

"Don't play with me. I know what you're capable of. You're screwed if you don't tell me," the fox man snapped, kunai out in a flash.

"Oh, and kill one of Sakura's friends? She wouldn't be happy about that," he said.

"You, her friend? Sorry, but that's where we come in." Ino was gathering chakra up in her fingers.

"Really? Well, would you think twice about being so close to her if you knew what she could do? What she had?" Kisame questioned. He knew they were dedicated, and he knew they were naïve and they weren't to blame, but he had to throw them away from the trail. Somehow.

"What does she have?" Naruto asked. "We don't know anything! Tsunade wouldn't listen to us. We had to..." he paused; knowing if he said they were alone he could just kiss his ass goodbye.

"Had to...what? Sneak away?" the Samehada's wrappings were shaking ominously.

"Hardly. Do you think we're stupid enough to come here alone?" Ino challenged, her eyes darting to the trees, trying to set up an illusion while she worked on her mind jutsu.

Kisame didn't buy it. He could only sense two chakra sources other than himself, and he had _damn _good senses. He could even sense someone's lifespan. The kyuubi's included. "Okay," he said, laughing. "Would you mind keeping your hands to yourself, girl? I can see what you're doing."

Ino froze. She looked down at her hands, ready to perform her famous Mind Transfer Jutsu.

Kisame stepped back. "I don't have time for you. I have more important things to do."

"What could be more important than wiping out your pursuers?" Naruto challenged.

The shark man paused and stared at Naruto, eyes heating up with a displaced anger. Shivers went up the younger man's spine.

"Saving Sakura's life," he hissed.

In a flash, he was gone, running away. The two Konoha-nin were standing their dumbly, processing what he had said. Ino turned towards her travel companion. "What does he mean?"

"He was trying to confuse us," Naruto explained. "At least, I think he was. Let's go after him."

"O-Okay," Ino sputtered. "Still, I'm not so sure. Does she have a disease or something?"

Naruto rounded on her. "I don't know! It's not important to guess, we gotta find out the facts. Let's go before we lose his trail."

Ino nodded silently and took off running after the shark man. A bad feeling was growing in her stomach.

**XxXxXx**

Deidara watched Kisame approach and jump into the barrier, skidding through the door and shutting it, looking behind him frantically.

"You're back early. I just _love _the table you picked out, it really matches against the air, yeah," Deidara said sarcastically.

"I got sidetracked," the blue-skinned man spoke. "The barrier's got enough strength, that's lucky."

"Were you being followed?" Deidara asked.

"Two Konoha-nin." He noticed Deidara perk up. "Claiming to be Sakura's friends. One of them is Naruto Uzumaki. The second I think is Ino Yamanaka."

"Keep your voice down!" the other one chastised, noticing Sasori walk down the stairs. "You know how he feels about Konoha-nin."

Kisame eyed the puppet master for a moment. "Yeah, I do. But we have to stay in here. They have my trail, but they shouldn't notice the barrier if we can maintain it properly."

Sasori stopped and looked down at the two conversing. He shook his head. "Kisame...you forgot the table."

"I know," he murmured, "why's everyone bullying me about that? Go make one yourself."

"In your room!" the blond exclaimed cheerfully. "Away from the door!"

"What are you two planning?" he asked suspiciously.

"To kill you in your sleep!" he replied in the same happy tone. "Now get going, yeah!"

Sasori looked from both Deidara to Kisame. "...I shall then." He headed back up the stairs, and Deidara breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank heavens for that. The last thing I need to do is tackle him down."

They traveled to the living room and stepped inside. Sakura was nowhere to be seen.

"She's in Itachi's room," Tobi told Kisame, noticing his wandering gaze.

"We all have to stay inside," Deidara stated. "We got two Konoha-nin approaching and we're on their hit list. They're looking for Sakura. Don't tell her, yeah."

"Why would she care?" Zetsu asked.

"They're her friends. Plus, one of them is Naruto Uzumaki. If we piss him off we might have to kick some kyuubi ass, yeah."

"I'll wait by the door and observe them," Hidan offered. "I can replenish some of the barrier if it starts to wean."

"Good. Kakuzu, Deidara, you both be on alert as well. Is Itachi with Sakura?" Kisame didn't see the Uchiha either.

"He should be. He's refusing to leave the room when she's asleep." Tobi flipped open a magazine. "She'll probably sleep through the whole thing."

"I don't know many girls who sleep in the afternoon, but okay."

**XxXxXx**

_**The dance square was alive with people dancing all around her. Sakura laughed, she had been here before. Except, this time she was alone. She looked around. Where was Itachi? She heard a rumbling in the distance, but no one paid it any mind; they were busy dancing to the heavy music played by the band.**_

_**She smiled. This wasn't a time to be so picky. She'd just go and look for Deidara.**_

_**The ground shook, and a few dancers stopped, staring down at the ground in confusion. Sakura's eyes widened as a crack appeared under her feet. She turned and stared at the distant mountains.**_

_**The sky erupted in white, as did the mountains. A burning sensation pressed her back and she screamed, falling to her knees. Dancers screamed, running from the light. It quickly caught up to them, and Sakura threw her hands up in a feeble attempt to shield herself from the blinding light.**_

**_The next time she opened her eyes, black smoke and charred remains of the joyous festival encircled her. The bodies of strangers were sprawled around her, blacker than the sky. Smoke billowed over the decimated houses._**

_**She was the only one alive. She stood up, seemingly unhurt. **_

"**_What's going on?!" she screamed, running through the debris. She ran until her zori caught something on the ground and she fell, a horrible burning smell filling her nostrils._**

_**She was lying on an Akatsuki cloak which felt unnaturally lumpy. She shifted, and found herself on top of the corpse of Kisame, periwinkle skin now coal-black. **_

"_**Kisame...KISAME!" she screamed, launching herself off his body and shaking in fear, soot burning her exposed legs. Scrambling up, she ran again, screaming Akatsuki names. It was quiet, other than the sound of crackling flames.**_

**_A signpost cracked and collapsed beside her. Looking down at it, the kunoichi saw the direction to the batting cages. "Deidara!" She ran to them, and saw him standing in the remarkably untouched cages with a bat, not facing her._**

"_**Deidara!" she reiterated, sliding down the hill towards him.**_

_**He turned around, a smile on his face. "Sakura-chan, let's play some baseball, yeah!"**_

_**Sakura stopped. "What? We don't have time for that! We have to get out of here! Don't you see what's happened?"**_

"_**What're you talking about? The machine still works. What speed do you want it at? Or do you wanna do it manually?" Deidara walked over to a machine.**_

"_**Are you blind?!" she screeched. "Let's GO!"**_

_**Naruto, Ino, and Kakashi appeared beside Deidara, all wearing baseball caps. They ignored her desperate pleas as they began a game of baseball within the cage. Behind her, a house crumbled. **_

_**Tears trickling down her face, she ran down to the cage, pink hair billowing behind her in the ash-laced winds. Outside the entrance to the cage, she saw Kakashi stop, a ball in his glove.**_

"**_Are you joining us?" he asked._**

"_**We have to GET OUT OF HERE!" Sakura cried.**_

"_**You're such a party pooper, billboard-brow," Ino chastised, giggling.**_

_**Sakura grabbed the handle to the door, and shrieked, pulling away. It was burning hot. Inspecting her hand, she saw a heavy burn that stung.**_

_**Naruto shrugged. "Well, you'll be missing out Sakura-hana."**_

**_The entire cage erupted in flames. The girl was thrown back. She couldn't speak; only watch as her friends laughed and played baseball as they were set on fire, one by one, the brilliant orange fire spreading through the cage until she couldn't see them anymore._**

_**She curled up into a ball and buried her face in her knees. "Get me out of here..." she whimpered. "Please..."**_

"_**Sakura."**_

"_**What do you want?" she asked, not looking up.**_

"_**Your novel. I want you to look it over." The person handed her a book.**_

_**She took it and stared at the cover. It read 'Sakura Haruno'. She opened it, scanning each page. Her birth, her upbringing, becoming a ninja, Sasuke leaving, Orochimaru's death, Sasuke coming back, her sweet sixteen, Sasuke leaving again, running away to look for Sasuke, becoming a missing-nin, meeting Itachi...all up to the dance. Then, underneath the last sentence were two bright red words.**_

_**The End.**_

_**Sasuke, Sasuke Sasuke. That seemed to be the plot of her life. Was it because she loved him?**_

"_**I hate it," she muttered. "It's too short."**_

"_**Then let's keep writing," he demanded.**_

_**She looked up at him, emerald eyes gazing into ink eyes. Sasuke was smiling at her. This wasn't who she was expecting.**_

"_**I don't...I don't need your help," she said. She didn't want him to run her life. He couldn't be her partner. She didn't like it.**_

_**He nodded. "I know who you want."**_

_**He shifted, and Sakura stared at the new person in front of her. A feeling of complete trust came over her, and she smiled. This was the right one.**_

_**She handed him the novel. "Let's get writing."**_

Sakura opened her eyes. A familiar room, a familiar bed. Itachi was standing by the door, reading. No fires, nobody dead. It was just another dream. But why did she feel this strange lurching feeling in her stomach when she looked at the dark-haired man?

She sat up. Itachi looked up from his book and gazed at her. "You're awake. It's late. You slept the whole afternoon."

"_**Don't tell her about Naruto and Ino, yeah."**_

He glided over to her. "Are you...hungry?" Idle conversation was not his strong point.

She smiled at him, brushing pink locks from her face. "No."

"You've...cheered up."

"I had a vision. Or maybe it was just a nightmare."

"And that cheers you up?" he asked, perplexed.

"No. But, I just feel better. Sasuke was in my dream, probably the only good thing about it," she went from one topic to another.

Itachi's heart pained. He moved away from her roughly. "I see." His new tone was acidic.

"It was horrible though," she shook her head. "My seal went off. Everyone was dead, I saw Kisame...and Deidara was playing baseball in fire. Everyone was abandoning me. Only until the end, Sasuke—"

"It's no surprise they left you alone. After all, you had Sasuke. He's much better than anyone else."

Sakura stopped, staring at him. Itachi immediately regretted his words. He hadn't meant to be heartless. However, it always seemed like Sasuke always replaced him in her mind. Either that or she compared them. She wanted him to be like Sasuke, that's what she made it sound.

"Sakura," he began.

"Fine then. Maybe you're right," she spoke in a quiet, angered voice. "Maybe Sasuke is better than everyone else. He's surely better than _you!_"

She got out of bed, pushing past him. "You really like making me feel like crap, don't you?" she said before leaving the room, slamming the door.

Itachi sighed, sitting on his unmade bed. He silently cursed himself.

**XxXxXx**

Sakura watched the lily pad float by, not really paying attention. The deep, hot waters soothed her body and tired her. The hot spring was located close to the castle. She never used it much because of the baths at home, but in this case she wanted to cool off...or heat up.

_Why would Itachi say something so cruel? _she thought, her eyes burning. His words had hurt her.

**It was a misunderstanding! **Inner Sakura paced around, nodding.** He never let you finish. You were going to tell him he was in your dream too, right?**

_Actually, I don't think I was, _she admitted. _It's hard to be emotional around him._

Her inner self snorted. **Then what was with the whole "Am I gonna die? Hold me!" act you put on that night you ran off?**

She flushed. _I was overwhelmed! I would've done it even if it wasn't him._

Sakura curled up, resting her chin in between her knees. The powder snow spread around her sparkled in the moonlight.

_Still...why do I always think of Itachi?_

She heard the crunching sound of footsteps and her eyes fixed themselves on an approaching figure. It was Itachi, the last person she wanted to see while she was naked in a hot spring with her clothes on the other rock. What was worse, he was wearing a towel and nothing else.

She squeezed her eyes closed and heard him enter the water. Daring to open her eyes, she saw him standing across from her, muscular figure even more impressive than the moon. His long black hair whipped across his face in the cold gales.

The silence was dangerous. Sakura didn't move, though her blush became more and more apparent through the steam. Itachi almost smirked.

"...You're usually the one who breaks the silence," he remarked.

She looked away from him. "Do you mind closing your eyes so I can get my clothes?"

"Leaving?"

"You're polluting the water," she hissed.

Itachi's good humor faded. "I did not mean what I said. I was angry, that is all."

"That's all? You were angry, about what? That Sasuke was in my dream? You jealous?" she teased.

Itachi glowered. "I don't know."

"You don't know? Know what? If you were jealous or not? Well I'll just say that maybe, just maybe you could think that I don't rely on his all the time? I've done some thinking and I've realized he hasn't been there for me up until now. All the time he's ran off and I was so distraught, and now I know that he really wasn't right for me." Sakura straightened herself out, the water now at her collarbone.

"Well that is good," he said, annoyed.

"There you go. Being cryptic again. Good about what? Sasuke always did the same thing; he'd always leave me in the dark."

Itachi's hands curled up into fists and he took a large step towards her. His face was contorted in anger and sadness. Sakura was taken off guard, and recoiled in fright, sinking against the rock.

"There I go? There _you _go. You always compare me to Sasuke. And it always annoys me. Why does it annoy me? I've spent a long time wondering why and now I know why. It hurts me, Sakura, when you compare me to him, my younger brother who is so different from me. I want you to see _me, _not another Sasuke."

"See you? I see you fine. You're a prick," she sputtered.

"You don't get it, do you? It came to me. And I never thought it would. Until today, until just a moment ago."

He stared at her, beautiful ivory skin and deliciously pink hair framing a stunning face with captivating eyes. And her smile, her laugh, it was all perfect. Finally, he knew why.

"Think of what?" she asked, frustrated. "You're so..."

"What am I?" he interrupted. "To you. Tell me what you truly think about me."

"..." It wasn't a hard question. There were just so many things she thought of him. "You're...serious at work. Hardworking, you have humor issues...strong. Protective, dedicated..."

Itachi was inching closer and closer to her, cutting a path through the steamy waters. He took in every word she said, and she became more and more comfortable as he grew nearer and nearer.

"Loyal, faithful, relentless, intelligent, calculating..." he was so close to her now, "...smooth, quiet..."

She stopped, unable to speak. His body was touching hers now. He pressed her against the rock and leaned down, hot breath tickling her nose. She couldn't find anything to say before he placed his hands beside her head and kissed her softly.

His lips touched Sakura's and her mind went reeling. She didn't know what to do, to say, if she should pull away or continue. Just then, something came to mind. Why Sasuke had been replaced by Itachi, why he was always on her mind.

_I love him._

She pressed her naked body into his, and she remained in his arms for a long time, even after the kiss was over. She felt so comfortable with him, like nothing in the world could go wrong. Not even the seal worried her.

They clothed in front of each other without any embarrassment. They walked back to the castle together, holding hands. They entered Itachi's bedroom together. Nothing could separate them that night.

**XxXxXx**

Well, that's the moment you were all waiting for, I'm sure! Sorry about being late on this chapter. The dream was difficult to write, I wasn't sure how I would approach Itachi's replacement of Sasuke.

The Bears lost! Oh well...well, good luck next time. I'll be rooting for you!

Nothing much to say. I don't know when I'll update next, probably in another month. I have writer's block for my two other fanfiction which also affect my ambition to write this fanfiction, so you might have to wait. Well, at least I left you with something nice! I found a new cute couple too, Naruko (female Naruto) x Sakura!


	12. Nowhere to Run

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.  
****Slight AU warning.  
****Don't forget to review when you're finished reading!**

**XXX**

**Unknown Deceit**

**Bolded lines** are Inner Sakura. _Italicized lines _are regular thoughts from anybody. **_Bolded italicized _**lines are flashbacks or dreams.

**Chapter 12 – Nowhere to Run **

It had just snowed, little flakes piled up like powdered sugar on the rails of the porch. Sakura was rocking back and forth in a chair she had pulled out there to watch the snow fall down that morning, against the blazing orange sun that was rising over the white trees in the distance.

She loved beautiful mornings, and wasn't a bit cold underneath a comfy blanket she had brought out with her or with Itachi standing behind her watching the scene unfolding with her.

"You know," she broke the silence after a while, "when I was a child, I'd always loved Uchihas. They were so dark and drawn back. I guess I was the kind of person who liked stepping over the line and checking out those kinds of places your parents warn you about. But now that I'm over the line and at that forbidden place, there really isn't anything so wrong with it. It's just another beautiful thing." She drew back her hair and let it blow behind her in the morning breeze. "I never knew what I wanted to be when I was a little kid. First it was a policewoman, but only Uchiha could be police, and then it was a gardener, and then it was a ninja. Of course, stupid me thought that ninja was just a regular job, but nope. What kind of ninja did I want to be? I thought there was only one type. Apparently I was good with medical jutsu, but I don't know if I really wanted to be it. Tsunade said I had a knack for it so I went for it. That way I wouldn't be the only one in my graduating class without any talent I could show off at reunions or whatever."

"...You never were special," Itachi said.

"Nope, just the pinkette who was in the team with Sasuke Uchiha and the kyuubi boy Naruto Uzumaki. When I took a good look around me I noticed that even Naruto was getting more attention than me, and everyone had always looked at him with scorn. I guess that made me jealous...I don't know. If I'd had known that I'd be dying soon I wouldn't have been such an idiot as a kid." She laughed nostalgically. "I think...yeah, I think I'd train more. I don't remember training more than once a month before Tsunade took me as her apprentice. And then I was the clone of Tsunade, with the potential to surpass her. Finally I was something. I made such a change...was everyone ready? The funny thing is I think my training was completely overlooked because of Sasuke."

"A shadow," he stated, taking her hair strands and curling them around his finger.

"Pretty much. You know, when I was fighting those puppet things Sasori created, I had such a rush. I felt so important and individual, cuz after all Naruto and I weren't supposed to be there. Breaking the rules was a lot of fun." Sakura giggled. "I was always a goody-goody."

"And now you're a missing-nin."

"I don't want to die," she blurted out. Turning and noticing the look on his face, she shook her head. "Don't worry; I'm not going to turn on my faucets. But I really would appreciate it if I didn't die so early in my life. I still want to do things—marriage, kids, y'know the package."

He nodded silently. "You will not die. In all my power I will find a seal breaker."

"That's a lot of power. That makes me feel better," she stated.

The door opened and Deidara leaned out, blond hair hanging in front of his handsome, feminine face. "You guys coming in for breakfast?"

"Who was it that wasn't me who made breakfast?" Sakura questioned.

"Kisame and I did a little collaboration. You know we did take life skills in school, yeah," he smirked.

Sakura got up with the blanket. "Let me return this to Itachi's room first," she commented, passing by Deidara and into the warmth of the castle.

Deidara snuck Itachi a sly grin. "So, I noticed you got up much later this morning, yeah."

Itachi gave him an emotionless stare. "Yes, and...?"

"Oh, don't play the emo with me. You and Sakura are totally an item now aren't you yeah?" He nudged the Uchiha.

"...This isn't school," he replied curtly and went into the castle.

Deidara followed him. "You are a tiger, Itachi! A _demon! _You must tell me all about it! How did she react when she saw your nine inches of wonder? Or is it really nine? I still believe it's five but you won't compare, yeah! Oooh, how's she taste? Bet you it's like sucking on a delicious cherry. Oh wait—you popped hers didn't you, yeah! Hey, don't ignore me! Give me details, explicit ones that I can masturbate to later, yeah. Come on!" He smiled innocently at Itachi's glare. "Please, yeah? We're all guys here! That's what we do—eat, sleep, kill crazy nin-bitches, and masturbate!"

"..." Without replying, Itachi went into the kitchen and sat down across from Zetsu. Kakuzu was drinking his tea when Deidara came in and sat next to Itachi.

"We may be missing-nin who gotta fight for our lives just so we can get a roll of toilet paper at the village, but we still do our manly things! Come on, who here doesn't masturbate?" He addressed the entire table.

The guards became very discomforted by his question, but Kisame laughed. "Come on, I sure do."

Sasori raised his hand. "I do not, in fact, pleasure my cock."

"You don't have one," Deidara said, taking him seriously. "Poor guy."

"I don't masturbate either," Zetsu said.

"That's because yours will try to eat you if you touch it," Hidan pointed out calmly, eating some egg.

Itachi had no idea why he was even in this conversation. They were all acting like schoolchildren, giggling about sex and bringing up jerking off their penises. Apparently, this was entertainment. Still, listening to it was strangely interesting.

"Yours will eat you? _Really? _Hopefully it doesn't snake up at night and eat your eye out or something, yeah," Deidara shivered.

"It's only seven," Zetsu said.

"Only? I wish mine was...six," Kisame sighed.

Now they were comparing. If they started to whip them out Itachi was out of there. Luckily, they were interrupted by a loud clearing throat.

"Having fun, boys?" Sakura asked.

Kisame burned red and Zetsu chuckled. "Yes, we are Sakura-chan."

She sat on the other side of Itachi, a plate of breakfast set out in front of her. "I would appreciate if you gossiped you would do it in a polite manner, Deidara."

"Yes ma'am," he replied in mock-anguish. "Now then, on a more serious note..." He pulled out a map from his robe and threw it in between saltshakers and soy sauce containers.

It was a map of Konoha. Sakura immediately recognized the layout. Some of the places were blurry, and she was reminded that she really hadn't been there in a long time. Being with Akatsuki had made her forget, little by little, the places she used to play at and hang out with her friends.

"What are we doing?" Itachi asked, surveying the map with deep red eyes.

"Going on a little mission," Deidara answered. "There's a library in Konoha all about seals and kekkei genkai and all that jazz, and my smart little brain was a-thinking that we should check it out."

"To Konohagakure..." Sasori muttered.

"Where _you _won't be going," Kisame said. "You'll kill everyone there."

"You read my mind to the tee," Sasori said with a sick smile.

Sakura chuckled nervously. "So, who'll go?"

"Kakashi and you," Deidara said. "Hidan, Tobi, Kakuzu and I will be fallback units patrolling the city walls."

"So the rest of us will await them here?" Zetsu put two and two together.

"I wish to join you," Itachi said. "I may not have been in Konoha for many years but I, other than Kakashi and Sakura, know the layout well enough, and I know the exact location of this library you speak of."

"I don't remember any library like that," Sakura remarked. "Is it supposed to be a secret?"

"It's only accessible to Tokujo and above," Deidara explained. "I got the coordinates from Kakashi."

Kakashi was stirring the bean soup at the appliances. "We'll go after breakfast. If Itachi wants to join us that's fine, but I need to talk to him before we go."

Sakura nodded. "I'll get my disguise ready."

Itachi watched her leave the kitchen and Kakashi approached the Uchiha. "Itachi, don't screw this up."

"...You don't have to tell me," Itachi replied.

"I know that you love Sakura and I know you're going with her because you love her, but you can't make any bad decisions in your blind effort to help her." Kakashi knew it all too well. Once upon a time, Sakura would've thrown herself off a cliff if it meant saving Sasuke. Now, he had a sinking feeling said man's older brother would do the same thing for said woman.

"I would advise you not to underestimate me. Sakura thinks I am optimistic, but she does not know how little time she has, and I must prepare myself for the worst. I'm not a sacrificial man, Kakashi." Itachi began his short trip to his room.

"Does preparing yourself for the worst mean bedding her like you did yesterday? You should have known better," Kakashi scolded.

"I am twenty-three years old and I'm being scolded for doing a healthy, binding act of partnership with the woman I love. What's wrong with such a thing? I wanted to show her how I feel, and I did." Itachi put on his hat.

'Seres' stepped out of her shared room with Itachi wearing common traveling clothes. Her headband lay on the bed, knowing she didn't need it nor did she want to ever wear it again. Kakashi tilted his own headband, concealing his lone Sharingan eye.

"I won't be traveling with you the whole way," Kakashi remarked. "I'll go on ahead and secure the library, and then you two can follow. Did you study the map?"

Sakura nodded. Behind the _residential hot springs and next to the shipping yard, _she had memorized.

He gently touched her arm. "Don't be nervous," he consoled. "I know you haven't been to Konoha in a while, but you have to remember that everything's going to go fine as long as you keep a cool head. Don't go running amok, even if you can't forget what they did to you."

"...If you're so worried about me losing control, then you should keep me here," Sakura said bitterly. "I'm not like Sasori, you know."

**XxXxXx**

Ino sipped the coffee in delight. The exotic drink was delicious and warmed her insides considerably, giving her the energy to continue on without a stop at the village. She was severely disappointed that their search had revealed nothing; and the fish man had been a dead lead and she had grown tired of avoiding Konoha-nin.

Still, what the fish man had said bothered her.

"_**Saving Sakura's life," he hissed.**_

Why did her life need saving? She was on the run with S-class missing-nin, but if she had allied herself with them then she definitely had the strength to take care of herself.

Where had the little whiny Sakura she knew gone? She used to be quiet and shy and never drew attention to herself, and then began to thirst for attention but didn't have anything worth looking at, and even after the two years Sasuke left to train under Orochimaru she was still cute, hot-tempered Sakura who stood in the background and helped Naruto.

Now, she was running off with the most wanted criminals in the world.

_I don't even know what I'm going to do when I see you, _Ino thought. _Should I slap you, or hug you? Will you even let me that close?_

She walked over to a huge bulletin board in the village square where Naruto was examining a collage of pictures.

"What's over here?" she inquired.

"They had a festival a while ago. A bunch of photographers took these pictures, and I'm trying to see if anyone from the Akatsuki, or possibly Sakura herself, is in here." He scrutinized each one carefully. Turning his head to look at Ino, he noticed her shivering. "You know," he said in concern, "you can go inside in the inn. I don't want you to catch cold."

She smiled faintly. "That's alright, I'll help."

He pointed at a picture of three people standing around talking. "This one's got the coolest kimono. It's orange and black."

"Doesn't this one kind of look like Kakashi-senpai?" Ino wondered, looking at the one next to the colorful masked man.

"Yeah, I guess if you look at it from some other weird angle. But this one over here were voted the best dance couple," he pointed to another picture of a man and women dancing close together, purple kimono crashing against black.

"I bet my moves are better," Ino did a little pelvic thrust.

Naruto turned away, a light flush creeping up his cheek. "I-I'm sure you do."

"I can't see any suspicious in any of the pictures. Well I guess we'll just go back to the inn. We can look later, okay? I'm tired," the blond girl yawned.

Naruto smiled. He hadn't thought of it before, but he enjoyed her company. "Yeah, let's."

They headed back to the inn and a man passed Naruto. He paused and turned to watch the man, wearing a Jounin uniform. He looked kind of like the guy in the photo. A few minutes later, a couple walked by, and Naruto could've sworn they were the two dancing in the photo.

"Excuse me," he said, pausing.

The man and woman turned around. The woman, with long black hair fixed her eyes on him. Naruto suddenly felt very timid, and somewhat uncomfortable from the look she was giving him.

"I'm sorry," he stammered. "I confused you for someone else." The woman in the photo had pink hair, like Sakura. Still, this one in front of him could have been her twin.

Ino pulled at Naruto. "Stop staring at her; don't be rude." She bowed in apology. "Sorry ma'am, sir."

"That's quite alright," the man said, nodding his head. "Let's go, Seres."

He touched her shoulder when she didn't respond. "Seres?"

_Naruto. Ino._

Her friends.

_Naruto. Ino._

They didn't recognize her.

_Naruto. Ino._

How long had it been since she had seen that goofy, smiling face or that girly smirk?

_Naruto. Ino._

Would she ever be able to share ramen with her old teammate again?

_Naruto. Ino._

Or get into silly fights and pick flowers with her old best friend?

_Naruto. Ino._

Would she be looked at as a friend...or a criminal?

"_**Naruto! Ino!"**_

_**Konoha. Everything was burning, and all Sakura could see was Naruto and Ino, crumbled on top of each other, caught underneath burning wood.**_

_**Konoha, completely burned down. All she had done was go back.**_

_**Now, everyone was dead.**_

Sakura screamed and ran off, away from Naruto and Ino. Itachi looked startled and went after her.

"What was that about?" Ino wondered out loud.

Naruto shook his head. "I have no idea...maybe I brought back bad memories?"

**XxXxXx**

Sakura stared at the Konoha gates in front of her, shaking slightly. Seeing Naruto and Ino at the checkpoint village had caused her worries to return, and she suddenly became very awake to her situation. Itachi had done his best to console her, but even he couldn't help her relax.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

"I think so," she said. "I-I-I shouldn't worry. Konoha's not gonna blow up," she stammered.

He chuckled. "Of course not."

Two men were standing at the gates. They looked at the travelers approaching. "Excuse me!" one said. "Stay where you are."

Itachi paused and lifted up his hat. With a simple stare, both men collapsed. Sakura stared.

"That was amazingly simple," she spoke. "It's kinda pathetic."

They entered Konoha and Sakura was immediately hit with nostalgia from looking at all her old place. It saddened her and also brought about a level of anger and frustration from knowing how she could never walk through this town like a normal citizen again.

"I...I don't want to rush this," she suddenly blurted out. "Please, I don't want to go to the library just yet...can't we relax?"

Itachi contemplated it. He knew that someone would eventually find the collapsed ninja during the guard switch and he didn't know what time that would be. However, he was beginning to grow hungry and they weren't immediately suspicious. "Alright."

"Let's eat there!" She pointed to an outdoor-cart restaurant, Ichiraku Ramen. "Naruto and I went there all the time."

They entered the shop and she smiled at the old man Teuchi who had put his faith in that restaurant and had kept it running for years. "Hello!" he chimed. "Two, I see. What'll it be?"

"Miso ramen, please," Sakura ordered.

"Pork and soy sauce ramen," Itachi said next.

"Coming up in a minute," Teuchi said as he went to assist his daughter Ayame.

Sakura smiled around the place. "Being here brings up so many memories. Actually, being in Konoha period makes my heart hurt."

"I remember this place. I was never allowed to eat here as a child, because it wasn't satisfactory to my clan's nutritional needs," Itachi remarked. "Sasuke complained a lot, but I learned to keep quiet. Secretly, however, I wished that my clan would go away for a day so I could go with Sasuke and eat all the ramen we wanted. I suppose it wasn't such a good wish."

"I didn't really come here until after I befriended Naruto," Sakura said. "He introduced me to this place and we came here a lot with Sasuke..."

Teuchi placed two steaming bowls in front of them. "Enjoy."

Sakura smiled and thanked them. "Itadakimasu," her and Itachi chanted before beginning to eat.

She sighed. "I wish none of this happened. If any wish could come true, I'd wish that the bombs hadn't ever been created and that Konoha wasn't such a prick and that I could have still met you and fell in love."

"And that Sasuke didn't have to leave," he added. "I know you are thinking it."

"Itachi..." she leaned closer to him, "I wouldn't trade you for him ever. When I was younger he was everything to me and because I gave everything to something that would be nothing, my life became nothing important until I got this seal. Meeting you made me feel much more alive then I've ever felt. If I had gone through this alone, I don't know what I'd have done."

"We would have found you no matter what. We were looking for that seal specifically," Itachi said.

Sakura smiled. "You know, if I hadn't had this seal...what would you have done?"

"Found someone else, and I wouldn't have met you. Sakura...don't talk about fate like you can change it. Sometimes, you worry me with how you talk about everything changing like it's so easy to do so. I've told you to look towards the future and not long for the past that you can't have."

"I don't want that past. One that doesn't include you, I mean." Her dyed black hair blew behind her in the brisk winter wind. The ramen warmed her insides, but she felt a little afraid of the future, wondering if the world was really okay.

"Then don't wish for a different past."

**XxXxXx**

Sasori had been sitting, reading when Uida had burst in, shouting something and telling everyone to come quickly. He stood up and discarded the book. "Why are you shouting?"

"Konoha ANBU are approaching—Uzumaki and Yamanaka are with them!"

Kisame growled. "Shit."

"I thought you lost them," Zetsu rounded on Kisame.

"I did! Yesterday they gave up and went to the village! There's no way they can detect the genjutsu. Did Kakashi screw up?" Kisame stared out the window. "Do any of us know how to keep the barrier up?"

"I can," Zetsu said. "But not for long. I'd need Deidara and Itachi to fully maintain it."

"...Fuck on a stick," Kisame readied Samehada. "Looks like this isn't going to go well."

Sasori smirked. "I'll get rid of every last one of them."

"No, leave your personal vendettas behind for now! We have to keep the genjutsu up," the shark man snapped.

"Fine. But if they do break through the genjutsu, then I'm killing them."

**XxXxXx**

It had been an hour before Kakashi finally saw the matching black heads of hair approach the library. He had made sure the area was abandoned and no one was watching. He was also pleased to see Sakura cool as a cucumber. "Took you two long enough."

"We stopped for lunch," she said. "Now let's hurt up. It's cold."

He smiled at her eagerness. "Well, come in then, don't stay out here." He entered a house quietly and Sakura realized that the reason she didn't notice any libraries was because it was very hidden.

They walked down five long flights of steps to a dungeon-looking room absolutely teeming with books.

"Why is this library hidden?" Sakura asked. "These books don't look very important."

"They're all part of the Hokages' research about seals and world domination. You know, that whole thing. Unfortunately they went overboard and cuz of that this is the end result." Kakashi looked at Sakura and she knew he was talking about her.

Itachi browed each section, amazed. "These books were in the Uchiha libraries. Sasuke never did get to read them."

"Now you see why," Kakashi said. "If he had found them he wouldn't have gone with Orochimaru or even been as cold-hearted as he was."

Sakura punched the wall. "Damnit, Konoha! Why did you have to be so horrible?"

"Relax. Let's just search."

They did so. Rows and rows went by, and Sakura found nothing pertaining to her seal. There were seals from forbidden jutsu and books on torture so horrible even Ibiki would pale from reading it, and books on combing jutsu with alchemy and so many other things the kunoichi had never thought possible.

Itachi was busy in the Uchiha section, seeing books that he hadn't had time to read before his defection from Konoha. He saw handwritten notes on the Mangekyou Sharingan and on Tsukiyomi. It was tempting to read it all, but he wasn't here for himself. He started on a row back with Kakashi, who was blazing through books at the speed of light.

"I can't find anything." She put down a novel on medieval summons and sighed. "This was a waste of time."

"Not at all," Kakashi said. "I seem to have picked something up." His hand had brushed against a tattered leather-bound notebook when he had put away a large volume on complete summon annihilation. Opening it, he recognized the handwriting immediately. "The Fourth's journal on your seal."

"Are you serious?!" Sakura jumped in the air happily. "Let me see!" She grabbed the notebook.

_**The books collapsed all over her. Screaming as they touched her and feeling like hot coals were spilling on her body. She scrambled to get out of the small space, running up the burning stairs.**_

_**Coming up to the air, everything was black. People were running and screaming and the Hokage monument was crumbling, crushing people who were underneath it and the safety houses within the mountain. Schoolchildren were crying over the bodies of their dead parents, only to be consumed by an invisible inferno descending from the sky.**_

"_**No!" she cried, running. "Itachi! Kakashi! Where are you? Help me!"**_

_**She saw a figure stumbling in the distance. Tsunade came into view, limping.**_

"_**Tsunade!"**_

_**The Hokage looked up at her. "You...you came back...no wonder Konoha's burning...you just had to come back...now we're all dead."**_

_**They were all dead. Tsunade's skin began to melt off her face and her clothes ignited, and she became a ball of fire growing closer to Sakura.**_

"_**The seal went off. You failed..."**_

Sakura screamed and flailed, feeling the hot fire against her skin. "NOOOOOOOOOO!"

"Sakura!" Itachi grabbed her roughly and shook her, but she bucked away from him and head butted a shelf, causing it to tip over and hit the next row, crashing in a very loud cracking sound and books began to tumble everywhere.

"Shit shit shit shit shit," Kakashi cursed repeatedly, "I'll be right back. Itachi, make her shut up!" He dashed up the stairs.

Itachi took her wrists in his hands and restrained her. "You're making a mess! Sakura, it's me!"

"Itachi!" she screamed loudly, shaking.

"What?!"

She opened her eyes and stared at him, whimpering. Colliding into him and nearly choking him from her tight embrace, she sobbed. "The dream...Konoha was burning...everyone was dead because of me!"

_Again? Why does the seal make her have these recurring dreams? _Itachi held her. "Don't worry, Konoha's not burning."

There was yelling at the top of the stairs. "Don't go down there!"

"Kakashi, get out of our way!"

"Who are you ordering around?! I'm your goddamn leader!"

"Apparently you didn't hear what just went on down there!"

Suddenly there was yelling and the sounds of a struggle, and in the next minute fifteen ANBU were surrounding Itachi and Sakura with weapons drawn at their necks.

"I-It's them! Itachi Uchiha and Sakura Haruno in disguise!" one of them said.

"Who have done nothing wrong to you," Kakashi hissed, being held in a stranglehold by three ANBU.

"Silence, traitor! We must take them to the holding facility at once!"

"I thought the bingo book said to kill us on site," Sakura stated, smirking. "Come on, afraid I'll sic some crazy genjutsu on you?"

Itachi backed away. "I don't want to do this, and I cannot." He grabbed Sakura. "Kakashi..."

"I'll be fine, just go!"

Itachi took the book and slipped it into his shirt, and picked up Sakura and blew through the ANBU, knocking them away. He literally jumped up the five flights of stairs and erupted into daylight, running with twelve ANBU at his heels.

Sakura began hand signals and turned. "Burning Hearts Jutsu!"

There was an explosion from the fire hitting them and the ANBU dispersed onto rooftops, attacking with hordes of weapons and jutsu that Itachi dodged gracefully, sending one ANBU into the ground from jumping on his head. He moved towards the city wall and closed his eyes. In a second, Deidara and Tobi were at the walls, mud bombs being pelted and Tobi dancing around in the air attacking an onslaught of ANBU.

Itachi threw Sakura at Deidara. She screamed and hit the wall with chakra bursting from her legs to prevent a painful collision. She turned and sent another round of Burning Hearts at them, with Itachi darting from ANBU to ANBU sending them in a field of torture with a quick glance from his Sharingan.

Hidan appeared, scythe at the ready. "Itachi, what happened?"

"We were infiltrated. I have the book we need." Itachi landed on the wall and back flipped into the forest, followed by the units.

Deidara smirked. "Haven't had so much fun in a while, yeah." He followed, and soon there were eruptions of battle all over the forest edge area.

Kakuzu double-teamed a trio of ANBU and Tobi went after two were rounded up by Deidara's mud puppets. Itachi was in a taijutsu bout with another, and Sakura was defending herself as best as possible, knowing that without Kakashi it was much harder. Itachi grabbed her arm. "We're pulling back."

"I don't think so!" one yelled, slamming into Itachi. He went flying and straightened himself out to see the ninja attacking Sakura with a kunai. She screamed and pushed against the ninja, toppling to the ground with a kunai knife lodged in her shoulder.

A huge burst out anger surged through his mind and he flew at the ninja, punching him and smashing his face into the ground. Grabbing Sakura, he nodded to Deidara and went running with Tobi pulling back along with them as a secondary distraction unit.

They went flying through trees up towards the castle, and Sakura remembered when she was running with Kakashi through the sort of same area. It had been a long time ago but now she was stronger and less afraid, knowing that as long as Itachi was close she would be safe. And soon, the cure for their problems would be in sight and soon Tsunade and the others who were in on it would get what they deserve.

"Don't stop running," Itachi whispered and she could tell they had units behind them.

Tobi paused. "Keep going and I'll hold them off!"

Itachi nodded and they jumped up through the trees, the castle meadow coming into site. However, something else was coming from the location that both of them didn't like.

Smoke.

"What happened?" Sakura asked.

Without answering, Itachi sped up and pulled Sakura into his grip and ran with her until they broke through the forest into the meadow. He came to a very short stop, so short Sakura would've gone flying had he not been holding onto her.

The castle had been uncovered and torn apart, with Akatsuki members battling more ANBU. Itachi swore.

"How did they know..."

Sakura saw two blond heads and she knew. Looking at her reflection in a melted pile of snow, she saw her dye had come out and she had lost a contact.

"Sakura!" Ino's voice rang through the air.

_Damnit. _ANBU started to close in on them and Sasori had gone mad, viciously attacking them with Kisame pleading for him to stop with Samehada defending all who came towards him. The guards were locked in battle and Zetsu was fighting his impulse to eat a hurt ninja on the ground.

Sakura began to go towards the wreckage, but Itachi stopped her. "You're our top priority. You must stay alive. It doesn't matter who dies as long as you are still alive."

"No! I can't let you ALL die for me!"

"Sakura!" Naruto came towards her. Her two old friends stood in front of her at the meadow's beginning, staring at her and Itachi.

"...Why?"

Sakura couldn't answer Ino's question. "...Get out of here. Sasori's going to hurt you."

"Is that all you can say? You betray us for these people and all you can give us is a warning?" Naruto pulled out a shuriken and threw it at her feet. "What the hell's wrong with you, Sakura?!"

"Nothing! You should take a good look at who's really doing the betraying! Now get off my back! Itachi!" Sakura commanded.

He smiled. "Am I your attack dog?" he looked at Naruto. "You will be gone. And you," he nodded at Ino. A blank look crossed over their faces and they crumpled to the ground.

"Go to Sasuke's."

Sakura paused at his demand. "What?"

"Go there, now."

"No! I'm not leaving you!"

He growled. "We don't have time for this!" He grabbed Sakura in a tight hold, this time to restrain her and took off back into the forest, this time taking another turn and going in a completely different direction.

"No! Itachi, let go! I won't run and hide! STOP!" she screamed.

Sasuke's house grew close and Itachi didn't bother knocking. He burst into it and threw Sakura in. "Shut up and stay in there. Sasuke!"

Sasuke was standing behind the door with a shuriken, worried that Itachi had been an enemy. "Brother, what's going on?"

"Make sure Sakura doesn't leave here. I have to go; the castle's been found out, it's decimated. Kakashi's been captured and Sasori's lost control of himself." Itachi stepped out into the daylight. "I have to go before I lure the ANBU here."

"No! Itachi, don't leave me!" Sakura ran towards him. Itachi stopped her and stared down into her eyes.

"Wait for me. I _will _return," he said, leaning down and kissing her softly. She barely had time to savor it, not knowing if it would be her last one with him ever. In a flash, he had disappeared.

She collapsed on the rug and began to cry. Sasuke leaned over her, whispering words of comfort. He had no details, but he'd just have to sit tight and wait for his brother, knowing he'd never break his promise to Sakura. Especially not Sakura.

**XxXxXx**

Woo, I'm still here! Well, in this fic at least. So, crazy stuff has been going on. This is the chapter where you know it's coming to an end, with all the weird shit happening.

I'm in my school's production of the musical _State Fair, _and I'm sick and very much overworked. So, that's my excuse for not updating this fic. Even though I somehow found a way to update _Show Me a Hero._ Do not question—just read and enjoy this chapter!


	13. Can't Stop Crying

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.  
****Slight AU warning.  
****Don't forget to review when you're finished reading!**

**XXX**

**Unknown Deceit**

**Bolded lines** are Inner Sakura. _Italicized lines _are regular thoughts from anybody. _**Bolded italicized **_lines are flashbacks or dreams.

**Chapter 13 – Can't Stop Crying**

Rain was beating down hard on the window frames of Sasuke's secluded home. The sun had just started to rise, but the sky looked still like the dead of night. It was silent in the sleeping house, except for the soft pitter-patter of raindrops against the roof and windows. A door creaked open and someone slipped out of their room very, very quietly.

Sakura tried to muffle the sound of her naked footsteps against the floor with chakra, but she was barely to the front door before someone was standing in front of it. She growled. "Get out of my way!"

"Trying to sneak out? It's raining and with the nightgown you're wearing you'll catch cold, and spread erections everywhere you go," the man in front of the door, Sasuke, said tiredly. He wore nothing but a baggy pair of grey boxer shorts, and by the tent in his pants she could see he was happy to see her.

"...You're disgusting."

"I actually woke up with this. You've lived with guys for how long and you've never heard of morning wood? It's annoying but I'd rather you see my pecker poking out of my pants then being too embarrassed and letting you run out in the rain to go find Itachi and getting killed." He took her arm gently. "Back to bed with you."

"Sasuke, _please _let me go," she said. "I want to find him."

He sighed and scratched his head, hair sticking out in every which way from sleep. "I'm not really good at this but..._please _don't make me have to tie you down. My skills have dropped light a rock in water and it'll probably be an actual problem to fight you."

Sakura folded her arms. "Are you telling me that you've gotten weak enough so I can take you now? That's insulting!" She punched him playfully. "Come on, where's the man I used to love?"

"Ow," he said miserably. "Thanks for giving me a bruise. Well, at least you're in good spirits."

He led Sakura into the kitchen and plopped her down at the table while he made some breakfast. She watched him, fascinated. In her entire life she had never seen Sasuke do normal things like cooking breakfast or washing clothes. It was like he was only ever there for fighting.

So he acknowledged his drop in skills. He sure looked weaker than he used to. She could compare his new demeanor to Kakashi, a sort of laid-back cheerfulness to him. Funny thing was she liked it on him, even if he wasn't that strong anymore. He couldn't be her knight in shining armor. That was Itachi's job now.

The first time she saw Itachi, a few years ago, she couldn't help but see the similarity between the brothers. The Sharingan eyes, the cold look, the pale skin, the similar jaw shape—it was kind of funny she never really realized the connection between them.

Now, they were vastly different. Itachi maintained his look, but also threw in a slight softness that made him all the more attractive. Sasuke however was scrawnier, kind of like how Naruto had been before he began training.

Naruto...she had seen him. Even though it hadn't been a separation like Sasuke's defection, it was still so shocking. He looked older, more mature...and more like a stranger. It brought tears to her eyes to think of it. Ino too. They had gone from being the closest to her to the friends behind Akatsuki. Deidara and Kisame had taken their place. They were back with Tobi and Kakuzu.

Sasuke plated breakfast and set it on the table—simple sunny-side up eggs and chestnut muffins with buttered toast, and a glass of tomato juice as the drink. They ate in silence. Sakura thought of yesterday's events over and over while Sasuke pondered the condition of his brother.

Itachi was a very strong person, but his skills, like Sasuke, had wavered. After he began to devote more attention to finding a seal-breaker for Sakura, he neglected training. It wasn't apparent by appearance, like Sasuke's neglect was, but soon it would be. This just worried his brother more. If he ran into too much conflict, he was bound to be hurt.

Sakura, on the other hand, had grown more capable than ever. Her strength had gone up and her chakra levels had risen exponentially. Sasuke couldn't help but wonder if her sudden skill growth was partly due to the seal. It wanted to be as secure as possible, and the stronger its host, the better.

Breakfast was finished quickly. Sasuke stood up and collected the plates, dumping them into the sink. Sakura had half a mind to try and escape, but she didn't want to put Sasuke in potential danger as well. Instead she headed over to the sink, grabbing soap and a sponge and starting to clean the plates.

"Sakura Haruno, doing housework for me," the dark-haired boy observed, "it's like a dream come true."

"I'm trying to distract myself. You're not helping." She worked particularly hard at a bit of egg refusing to detach from a plate.

Sasuke went into his room to change. He stepped out of his boxers. Catching a reflection of himself in the mirror hanging by his bed, he looked all over his body, from his pale scrawny chest to his length to his skinny legs. He got himself into a baggy black shirt and some green shorts, attaching his kunai pouch from years ago around his thigh. He ran a comb through his hair and scrubbed his face with some soap and water, all the time wishing he hadn't stopped training.

Walking back into the kitchen, he noticed the absence of Sakura and worried for a minute, darting to the door and poking his head outside.

"You really don't trust me do you?" he heard the female say from behind him.

He sighed in relief. "Well your little display earlier sure doesn't help." The man turned and saw a freshened-up Sakura, her shorts clinging tight to her legs and her shirt her usual maroon color. Her hair was put up in a bun and all her weapons were attached to her body in some way, shape, or form.

"You look ready to fight someone." Sasuke closed the door.

"...Just in case," she muttered.

They lounged around the house for a few hours. Sakura was very vigilant, always checking outside as if Itachi would pop up randomly, yearning for her company. Sasuke preoccupied himself with sudoku, one of the comforts in his lonely existence. Truthfully, the uproar from the hideout burning down and Itachi's disappearance excited him. He was bored with his quiet life, but he wouldn't go back to Konoha until everything was put right.

The rain had let up, and the skies were finally starting to turn afternoon blue. The clouds bleached from grey to white and the sun shone through the cracks of the clouds, hitting the surrounding trees in a glorious manner. Dew coated the outside grass and insects crawled warily around the wet jungle.

There was a beating on the door. Sakura shot up from the sill in a second and Sasuke put down his sudoku calmly. She opened the door, face shining with hope that maybe the older Uchiha was waiting for her.

It was not so. Deidara and Sasori stood outside, dripping wet from the rain. Blood mixed with water ran down Deidara's arm which had been severely slashed up, and Sasori was missing three fingers from his wooden appendages. Deidara held a battered cloak, soaked with blood.

It was Itachi's size.

Without a word, her emerald eyes fixed themselves on the cloak and she blanked out, like a robot. She turned around and went further into the house and sunk onto a chair, staring at the ground emotionlessly. Deidara and Sasori cast her looks of remorse. Sasuke approached them.

"Where'd you find it?"

"About three miles from the hideout. It had been impaled on a tree branch. We tried to follow the blood trail, but the rain washed it away, yeah."

"There was a blood trail," Sakura said quietly. Tears welled in her eyes and Deidara gave Sasuke a grave look.

"I'll take care of this, yeah."

"You're injured. I'll get you some remedies." Sasuke took the cloak and folded it up in a laundry basket. He didn't want to look at it. Itachi would have only left the cloak if it became a burden on him. That meant he must have been too weak to lug it along. It had gained several pounds from the amount of blood it soaked up.

Deidara was hugging Sakura and speaking words of comfort to which she was unreceptive. Sasori left the house to take a piece of wood from the side of Sasuke's house and promptly came back in with it, setting it on the table and beginning to carve three new fingers with a curved kunai. He wasn't good with emotional things. Deidara could take care of it.

"That much blood means he had to kill someone, I know it," Sakura sobbed, "but he'd never kill someone unless he had to. Why did he have to run off?! What purpose did it serve?"

"...I dunno," Deidara spoke truthfully. "I think he wanted to create a diversion so you wouldn't get caught, yeah. He'd die for you, you know."

"He died for me. He would never kill anyone. He died for me! All that blood...why does this have to happen this way? Why can't the prince be valiant and save the princess and no one has to die?" She wiped her eyes.

"Itachi's not dead. He's not the kind of person who dies so easily. He was determined to protect you, and that notebook, yeah."

His words rang in her ears. The notebook! Itachi had it on his person. "Sasuke, check the pockets of his cloak!"

Sasuke did so, and found nothing. "He must still be holding the notebook."

"You see?" Deidara pressed. "Itachi wouldn't die before he found a way to heal you. I bet you he's out there right now reading the shit outta that notebook, yeah."

"...I want to find him. I can't sit here. I don't feel right." Sakura writhed in her seat, antsy.

The blond shook his head. "You gotta be patient, yeah."

**XxXxXx**

Kakashi enjoyed the view of Konoha through the window. The day was nice, the sky a periwinkle blue and the breeze just cool enough to feel pleasurable against the skin. He reached his hand through the bars set in hard, chakra-draining metal on the window and felt the air.

A couple walking by looked up at his hand and glared at him, disgusted. They rushed on and he sighed, plopping back into the cold cell. He sat on the stone slab that they called a bed and stared at the reinforced wall in front of him in disdain.

He hadn't been able to escape the Konoha-nin. The library was completely ransacked in an attempt to cut him off and he was buried under shelves and shelves until they fished him out, putting him under the most powerful genjutsu possible. Now he was shut out from the world with no idea on how Sakura and Itachi were and if they still had the notebook, or if his efforts were in vain and Konoha had apprehended the notebook and they were both dead.

The ANBU captain shivered at the thought.

He heard the sound of rusted metal being moved. The door to his cell block opened. Footsteps echoed throughout the near-empty hall and Tsunade appeared, alone, in front of his cell door. He watched her with a lazy eye.

"...I trusted you," she said. "I thought you understood my position."

"I did, at one point," Kakashi spoke after a minute of silence, "but as soon as one of my ex-students caught the seal I knew I'd have to drop all loyalty to you and go with Sakura. I'm tired of covering up everything for you. You know the Third was a son of a bitch, even if he loved Konoha, what he did was too much."

Tsunade couldn't think of anything to say. The truth spilled out of her lips. "I'm afraid of the seal."

"I'm not surprised. Fuck, everyone's afraid of that thing." Kakashi shook his head. "But to do this to your former student..."

"I can't betray Konoha and go with her." The Hokage leaned against the bars. "I can't. I knew all about the Akatsuki. I wanted her to go with them, to get out of Konoha. I tried to bring her to them partly, but another part of me hoped that the ANBU would complete their job and she'd be dead, along with the seal, so we wouldn't have any future problems. I look towards the future of Konoha and Sakura wasn't a part of it."

Kakashi looked up at the ceiling and saw Sakura's face, smiling. "...She's very hurt. It took a long time for her to get used to everything, to realize the betrayals she's been put through." When Tsunade didn't reply, he continued. "What about the notebook?"

"...My men pursued Itachi Uchiha for miles. He was relentless on giving it up, but we wounded him during the pursuit. Needless to say, he still has possession of the item he stole."

"That's the notebook of the Fourth," Kakashi acclaimed. "It's all about the seal. Maybe Itachi will find some way to cure Sakura. You have to stop the pursuit. Leave everyone alone. Let nature take its course. If Itachi can find something on the seal, then let him try it. If he can't, someone will have to kill Sakura before the seal unlocks."

"...For someone who cares about her so much, you sure seem ready to stab her," Tsunade observed.

Kakashi stood up. He spoke seriously. "I'm not ready at all. In a way, I'm like you. I'd rather have her dead than the world. But I'm doing this; I'm helping them because it's what a virtuous Konoha would do. Not this cowardly one. I follow the Fourth's, my sensei's, policy more than anyone else's."

She didn't pursue the subject further. "We detained Tobi. He's turned into quite a handsome man, you know."

It was Kakashi's turn. "I don't want to talk about this."

"Really? Just like old times?"

"Shut up."

"...Do you want to see him?"

Kakashi glared at her. "Don't act like that's an honor. I saw him every day before I was captured."

"Speaking of that, we burned down your hideout." Tsunade saw the surprise register in his face. "Clever genjutsu you had. Unfortunately, your friends couldn't hold it up. Apparently Naruto Uzumaki and Ino Yamanaka led the ANBU right to their front step—literally." She smiled at his bewildered reaction. "Yes, one student you're trying to protect while the other messes up your entire plan. I haven't told Naruto about your deception yet; but he shall learn in time."

His fists clenched tightly. "For god's sake Tsunade! Try and think of the consequences of what you're doing. If you try to destroy the ones who are trying to help then you'll be left with nothing to do but kill the rest. I know you don't _really _want to kill Sakura. None of us do! The only difference is that you acted with the suggestion of execution instead of thinking it through logically. The move of a coward that altered Sakura's life forever."

"Don't think they're safe just yet. We need to destroy the seal at least. It's a good chance Itachi's dead with those wounds we gave him, and that means the notebook is lost. We'll be paying a visit to see Sasuke soon."

"Sasuke?!" Another familiar name rung through the air. Kakashi knew Itachi and Sasuke kept in touch, but he hadn't seen the younger Uchiha in several years. Sasuke left Konoha after learning about the bombs, and while trying to live in solitude, this entire time Tsunade knew where he lived?

"Konoha really isn't ignorant enough to think that Sasuke Uchiha dropped off the face of the planet. We have advanced tracking systems and we made sure we knew where he went, just in case he decided to betray us again."

"If your tracking systems are so amazing then you should've found Sakura months ago," Kakashi muttered.

Tsunade shook her head. "We got to her eventually."

"You're ruining everyone's lives," the teacher growled. "We want peace, that's all. You aren't even giving us that right. In the end, everyone's aiming for the good thing."

"Don't you see where it's left you, though?" Tsunade asked. "How many months does that seal have left? What will you do if the reading isn't accurate? Cutting a corner tight can result in death, and so can this. I'm thinking more about Konoha here—everyone else will suffer too."

Kakashi didn't speak anymore. She left him, sealing everything tightly, and crossed the hall into the lighter security cells, where Tobi was sitting, staring out the window with his exposed face. His white eye rolled around to look at Tsunade in instinct, even though nothing but white registered. "Didja have fun trying to question Kakashi?"

"Spare me the sarcasm, Obito."

He tutted. "Come on, don't call me that."

"Hate thinking about the past?" Tsunade asked. "Seems like everything's being uncovered all at once, hmm Obito? Turns out the information you and Rin secretly researched with the Fourth really will prove useful."

"...Kakashi's probably pissed because the Fourth didn't trust him." Tobi shrugged. "How am I supposed to know?" He looked out the window. "Konoha will get what's coming to them."

**XxXxXx**

Sasuke added some saffron to the chicken steaming on plates in his kitchen. He arranged the vegetables neatly so they didn't spill on the mashed potatoes. He began to chop tomato slices for himself when Deidara came into the kitchen.

"I smell something delicious. Oooh, lookit that piece of art," Deidara's mouth watered. "It's my firm belief art should be fleeting and soon that'll be gone, in my mouth."

"Wait like everyone else. No special privileges for you. How's your arm?" Sasuke asked.

"Could be worse. Hey, who's the fourth plate for, yeah?"

"Sasori."

"Sasori can't eat," Deidara reminded him. "He's made out of wood, remember, yeah?"

"Oh. Shit."

"I'll eat it for him, yeah?"

Sasuke tensed. His fingers gripped the carving knife tightly. Strange auras were approaching from far away. Their chakra patterns weren't familiar to him. He cast a glance at Deidara. He nodded and whistled.

Sasori and Sakura appeared a second later, silently. Sasuke spoke an incantation softly and the fridge moved, a small hiding hole available for the three to hide in. They climbed in.

"Sasuke," Sakura began, but he shook his head and held his finger to his lips.

Once the fridge was back in place, he continued making dinner like it was nothing, spilling the three other plates into the garbage and promptly setting it all on fire. He watched the garbage burn when he heard the door being busted open. Several ANBU were present and were drawn to the fire.

_Like moths to the flame, _he thought mockingly. He dumped water on the fire and turned to look at them with a homely smile on his face. "Hello. I'd prefer a knock."

"Sasuke Uchiha," one of them declared.

"The one and only. You want my autograph?"

From behind the fridge, Deidara almost laughed. Sasuke was such an ass.

"We are going to search your household. Any attempt to stop us puts you under suspicion of withholding dangerous articles from authorities," one of them spoke.

"Aren't you here _because _that's what you think I'm doing?" Sasuke asked.

"While we're searching, I will ask you a few questions. Where were you the night of October 15?"

"October 15? It's the middle of the month so I masturbated furiously for three hours. I'm not even kidding. Being a ninja gives you really good stamina. Or that night I might have had a hooker. Guys like me wallow in our self-pity and therefore can't have real lives." He smiled at them.

"Don't be smart with me, boy. Are you not the brother of Itachi Uchiha?"

"I never said I wasn't."

"Have you been keeping in contact with him?"

"I'm supposed to hate the guy. He murdered my clan, so no I don't think we're exchanging Christmas cards. Why?"

"Do you know the whereabouts of Sakura Haruno?"

"She's my old teammate. She loved me, I hated her, then I liked her, then Orochimaru fucked up our chemistry. I know she tried to off Tsunade. If you want to know why I know that it's because I read the paper which I get from the village close here, not from my underground sweatshop."

"We're warning you," the ANBU spoke dangerously, "if you continue to act in that manner we'll have to take you in for questioning."

"You're questioning me already, but the thing about this is that it's so much simpler. You don't have to drag me back to Konoha and go through all this legal shit—nope, just a friendly neighborly chat hmm?" Sasuke grew wary when an ANBU wearing a dragon mask started pawing around the kitchen appliances. He admitted the hiding spot wasn't very fancy but it was all he could do.

Sakura began to lose feeling in her left arm. Alarmed, she started pumping her chakra flow to it so she wouldn't lose her balance.

Meanwhile, Deidara was carefully spying at everyone in the household with his special eye. An ANBU leaned down and opened up the fridge, sticking his head in. He would've laughed from how close he was to touching the blonde.

"We haven't found anything," one of them said.

Sasori twitched, anger rising quickly. "That's..."

Deidara glared at him, mouthing 'shut up'.

The ANBU in the fridge left it, confused. "Did you hear something?"

"...Yeah, probably me talking to your boss," Sasuke spoke sarcastically.

"What's going on?" Sakura whispered from the hiding spot.

"Sasori hates Konoha-nin, and the one in the house right now..." Deidara tried to explain as quietly as possible, but Sasori started growling, his voice growing louder and louder as he started screaming.

"I'LL KILL YOU!" he finally bellowed, tearing out of the hole. The fridge flew across the room and within seconds the ANBU who had been inspecting the fridge was taken down, a spray of blood decorating Sasuke's kitchen.

"No!" Deidara yelled, scrambling from the spot and grabbing Sasori. "That wasn't him! Stop hurting everyone!"

Sakura sat, speechless, in the hiding spot, wide-eyed staring at Sasori. The ANBU all drew their weapons and pointed it at him, watching the blood drip from his wooden limbs.

"Did you honestly think I would just sit there and let the sons of bitches who destroyed me _live?_" Sasori breathed, glaring at an ANBU.

"Sasori. Experiment number 48," the ANBU replied. "You escaped and joined Akatsuki. I'm surprised you didn't started your bloodbath sooner."

Sasuke buried his face in a hand. All his hard work out the window. "Shit..."

"Sasuke Uchiha, you're a liar. You've committed treason against Konohagakure by harboring three deadly criminals and then lying about it. You're all coming with us to join Kakashi Hatake and your friend Tobi."

"Everyone, leave this to me. You don't want to kill anyone but I do. Get out of here and stay as far away from me as possible. I joined Akatsuki so I could have a reason to live with my miserable existence but I'm done trying to restrain myself. Sakura, I hope you're able to live a long life. I've outlived my years." Sasori eyed everyone in the room.

"No, Sasori...!" Deidara began, but his friend cut him off.

"Shut up, Deidara! I'm going to die today and I don't care. Just leave." He pulled out a kunai and threw it at an ANBU.

There was a flurry of weapons and soon everyone had pounced on Sasori. Sakura left her spot and jumped out of the hole in the wall caused from the fridge and Sasuke grabbed Deidara, who persisted on staying, but finally gave up the struggle and let himself be dragged outside quietly. Soon he was able to get on his own feet and glide through the forest to the village, trailing very far behind the two ex-teammates.

At the village, they sat outside the boundaries and Sakura sighed with relief. "I think we've lost them for awhile."

Deidara glared at her. "The hell's wrong with you, yeah? Sasori's going to die! Why did you leave him alone?"

"Don't complain. You heard him, and I don't blame him. His body's dead already, and his soul is tired of living. He's doing us all a favor by putting up a fight and we shouldn't complain. I didn't know him well so I'm sorry, I'm not really sad."

"...I can't agree with you on that," the kunoichi said, sadness falling over her. "Sasori was my friend. He's not really a sociable person, but I got to know him. You may not be losing anyone but I'm losing a friend. Still...I can't cry."

Deidara's face was stained with tears. "H-Heh, Sakura you're such a great girl, yeah. I don't even care that you can't cry c-cuz you got Itachi to worry about at the moment. Just let me cry for both of you."

Sakura held him close to her and he wept on her shoulder. It was then that she realized if Deidara had been the one to sacrifice himself, then she'd cry. That would set her tears in motion.

An hour later, they saw the very same ANBU approaching the village, blood splattered all over themselves. Deidara, who had managed to calm down, growled and threw himself away from them, behind a house. "I can't fight them. I don't wanna do the same thing as Sasori, yeah."

Sakura held a kunai up in the air. "If they want a piece of us, then they'll have to come take it."

"Sakura!" someone yelled.

The voice made Sakura cringe. It was Ino. She didn't want to face her at the moment. Unfortunately, the ANBU heard what the girl yelled and they sped up their pace.

There was no time to relax. Sakura pulled out a bomb and looked at Ino. "Leave me alone."

Ino approached her. "Why the hell should I?"

Naruto appeared beside her friend. "We want to know what's going on."

"You're not the only ones," Sakura retorted. "I don't have time for you, just leave."

Ino grew red with anger. She slapped Sakura across the face. Deidara tensed.

"You don't have time for us? Why? What happened to you that made us suddenly not be your friends anymore? We're going to be here for you because frankly I can't believe what anyone said you did. I just can't. But you're throwing away people who care and soon with all this fighting there will be no one left for you to run to." A tear ran down her face. "So please...damnit, just let me cry on your shoulder like old times. It's all we got left."

Sakura stared at her. She watched the tears, the clear, small tear drip down her pale cheek and it made her smile sadly. "It seems like everyone's been crying today," she said quietly.

"...We've all got a reason to cry. I heard sensei's in prison," Naruto murmured. "For helping you. Everyone I know's a criminal all of a sudden."

Sasuke stepped forward. "...I'm still safe for the most part." He laughed. "Though right now I'm wanted for treason."

Naruto gazed at Sasuke silently for a minute, taking in his figure. "...Sasuke?" His best friend looked so different.

"Naruto. You grew. No longer a midget. You're definitely more impressive to look at than me."

The kyuubi-boy merely plodded over to him, slowly and quietly. The raven-haired boy watched him, amazed, when suddenly Naruto collapsed on him, crying and embracing him.

"Where the hell have you been all this time, you son of a bitch?" he sobbed.

Awkwardly, Sasuke patted him on the back. "Closer than you think, my friend."

"...Even more tears," Sakura said. "We have company. I promise I'll explain everything to you later, once we're safe."

The ANBU were nearly on top of them when Naruto and Ino exchanged grins and jumped away from the group. They jumped in the air. Naruto moved towards Ino who grabbed him, chakra flowing into her arms and making her muscles glow. She did a three-sixty, holding him, and threw him down at the ANBU at top speed.

"Uzumaki Combo Beta!" he yelled, splitting into two hundred clones who all closed in on the ANBU, all using different taijutsu moves all ending with them kicking the enemy in the face.

A female ANBU drew her sword and ran towards Naruto. Ino stepped in front and held out her hand. "I don't think so," she said, sending a burst of chakra out of her hand.

The ANBU fell back and Sakura straddled her, standing up, and grabbed the sword. She held it up. "Piercing Insanity Jutsu," she muttered, throwing the sword aside. The ANBU screamed when she was enveloped in a genjutsu full of swords and kunai.

"We can fight alongside the enemy if the enemy becomes our friend," Ino said, grinning.

Sakura smiled. "Deidara, you gonna stand there or help us?"

"Heh. Come on, give me some time to mourn for Sasori, yeah," he said while throwing a punch at the enemy.

**XxXxXx**

Tsunade didn't want to hear Kakashi say the right things anymore. She wished he would shut up but she didn't want to hurt him, she really didn't. Each word he uttered left a deeper cut inside her that bled out pain and sorrow. Her mistakes were written all over his words.

"I'm tired of listening to you, please stop," Tsunade said.

"But you know I'm right. You're ruining everyone's happiness when even Naruto and Ino have turned on you, I'm sure they have by now. I hope you're happy with what you've done. You need to do something to make this right, don't you see? You don't want to be hated, do you? Now that Sasori's dead Akatsuki will not be happy but that doesn't mean they'll start killing you." Kakashi watched her through his bars.

"...I don't what to do now," she said. "Is it just me or is everything falling apart?"

"No, everything's starting to come together, but one person's victory means another's failure. I think you're on the failing team." Kakashi stood up and put his hand through the bars, his hands easily bending the bars with taijutsu.

He stepped through the bars. "...Are you going to let me go see the people I've been protecting my whole life?"

"...I'm not going to stop you. I have too much to think about." Tsunade turned away from him. "Just please...try and get me some amnesty from everyone."

"Including me?"

"...Yes."

**XxXxXx**

Sasuke ducked an ANBU flying in his direction, and he grabbed the guy by the face and smashed him into the ground, spinning around to avoid a shuriken. Naruto behind him nabbed it with his teeth and spit it to the ground. He jumped on Sasuke's shoulders and stood up.

"Cooperation Technique: Okami Dash!" they both yelled.

Sasuke began running, his legs pumped full of chakra. He gracefully avoided all attacks and spun around, Naruto leaping off him and punch-kicking two ANBU.

Sakura and Ino intertwined paths as they run, confusing the enemy by setting off smoke bombs and clones to run everywhere, the clones running into Deidara's clay bomb implants and setting them off where the ANBU were moving towards.

"This taking a long time," Sakura panted. "I didn't think they'd last this long."

"Come on, none of us are as strong as Itachi or nothing, yeah," Deidara spoke. "We gotta just wear them down until we can get away and end everything."

"How can we end this so quickly?" Sakura asked.

Sasuke froze in the middle of his attack, staring into the distance. Naruto paused and looked at his re-claimed friend. "You're...what are you doing?"

"...Itachi."

As soon as the words left Sasuke's lips Sakura stopped all she was doing. The ANBU around her became unimportant and all she could see was the spot Sasuke was staring at. Far away, a figure was approaching, swaying left and right and glowing a slight red against the moon behind him.

"ITACHI!" she screamed, running for him.

Kunai and shuriken littered the ground around her and continued to be thrown as she ignored everyone and ran towards her lover. He looked up, bloody and beaten, the sparkle gone from his eyes and looking awful small without his cloak. He smiled, a pale, thin smile.

A sharp pain filled her as she felt kunai pierce her back. She fell forward, holding her arms out and grabbing Itachi. Against him she stood, until her constant bleeding caused her to slide down. He went down with her, both of them sinking into black.

**XxXxXx**

Whew, sorry about the delay! Three months, wow. I got a PM asking me where the heck I was so I decided I really should update soon, so here I am! I'm thinking there will be two more chapters to go after this one, and everything's starting to close up so it'll be a good time to end.

It's great to finally update again! I got a lot of reviews in the three months, anyway. That I liked a lot!


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